Oh, how I love a good bargain!
My daughter and I especially like to browse for books in our local thrift store.
(Neither of us is content unless we are in the middle of a good book.)
On our last trip, we hit the jackpot!
She found a treasure trove of Star Wars books and I found a pile of cookbooks.
I spotted a picture of Lemon Meringue Cake.
Wow! I had never seen a cake covered with meringue before!
And I knew I had to make one.
I adapted the recipe to include a lemon cake (the original was a white cake)
along with the lemon filling and meringue frosting.
This cake is SO GOOD!!!
Like, "I skipped lunch and ate a piece of cake instead" good!
by Bird On A Cake
Lemon Filling
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 egg yolks (save whites for the cake)
- 2 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3/4 cup lemon juice
Lemon Cake
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 package lemon instant pudding powder
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 6 egg whites
Meringue Frosting
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup sugar
Lemon Filling
Bring the first 5 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly.
Boil 1 minute or until thickened, still whisking constantly.
Remove from heat; whisk in butter and lemon zest. Gradually whisk in lemon juice until smooth. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
Lemon Cake
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottoms of three 9 inch round cake pans with wax paper, grease the sides.
In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening with electric mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, lemon pudding powder, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in lemon extract.
Beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of egg whites in to batter; gradually fold in remaining egg whites.
Divide batter evenly into prepared pans; spread and smooth the batter with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes our clean. Cool on a wire rack before removing from pans.
Meringue Frosting
Beat meringue powder and water on high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.
Assembling Your Cake
Level your cake layers. Spread lemon filling between the layers, with the cake on an oven-proof cake stand or platter. Spread meringue frosting on top and sides of cake. Bake at 425 degrees for 5-10 minutes, until golden. Watch carefully so it doesn't get too dark! The top will brown more than the sides. Keep covered and refrigerate for several hours before serving.
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You need to plan ahead for this cake. I recommend making the lemon filling the night before.
You should also chill the cake for a few hours after you brown the meringue.
I made the filling layers quite thick, so It got a bit messy when I sliced my cake...
but no one cared because it was so delicious!
Enjoy!
I know you will. :)
I share my recipes and tutorials at these fun link parties.
Another yummy lemony recipe...
Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
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