This weekend was my honey's birthday! Happy birthday my love! To celebrate- panning for gold at a haunted old mine tucked away in the mountains of Squamish, cocktails and a romantic dinner at Hy's, and this most dreamy of cakes!
Devotees will recall last year's decadent Mille-Feuilles Dark Chocolate Crêpe Cake With Candied Hazelnuts. Inspired by the pallid winter sun, this year I used seasonal citrus fruits to create a cake that truly celebrates January and its bounty!
Lemon Meringue Cake Recipe:
(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)
Ingredients:
- Cake Flour, 1 cup + 2 tablespoons
- Baking Powder, 1 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt, 1/4 teaspoon
- Eggs, 7 large (6 yolk & 7 whites separated)
- Superfine Sugar, 3/4 cup
- Vegetable Oil, 1/4 cup
- Orange Zest, 1 teaspoon
- Lemon Zest, 2 teaspoon
- Orange Juice, 4 tablespoons
- Lemon Juice, 2 tablespoons + 1/4 cup
- Cream of Tartar, 3 pinches
- Granulated Sugar, 6 tablespoons + 2 cups
- Unsalted Butter, 4 tablespoons in small pieces
- Vanilla, 1 teaspoon
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt twice. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer, beat 3 egg yolks until pale & foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until pale and puffy, about 7 minutes.
- Add oil.
- Add zests.
- Alternate between adding flour mixture and juices. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer, whip 3 egg whites until foamy.
- Add 1 pinch cream of tartar and increase mixing speed.
- Beat until soft peaks form.
- Add 1/3 cup sugar.
- Beat until glossy and stiff.
- Stir 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk-flour mixture.
- Fold remaining egg white mixture into egg yolk-flour mixture.
- Pour into 7 inch pan.
- Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and invert on a cooling rack.
- In a saucepan set over medium heat, whisk constanly 3 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 6 tablespoons sugar for 7 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in butter.
- Transfer to a bowl, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer set over simmering water, whisk constantly 4 egg whites, 2 cups sugar, and 2 pinches cream of tartar for 3 1/2 minutes until sugar is fully dissolved.
- Transfer to electric mixer and beat for 10 minutes until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes.
- Mix in vanilla.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Spread the lemon curd over the cake.
- Pipe meringue onto cake.
- Bake until meringue begins to brown, about 2 minutes.
- Et voila! Enjoy with homemade Limoncello or a classic Sidecar!
