Layered sponge, shards of meringue, lemon cream and lemon curd – a spectacular celebration of all things lemon.
Equipment and preparation: you will need two baking trays lined with silicone mats, a large food processor with a whisk attachment and a 20cm/8in square cake tin.
Ingredients
- For the meringue
-
- 4
egg whites - 250g/9oz
caster sugar
- 4
- For the lemon slices
-
- 2
lemons, thinly sliced and slices cut into quarters
- 2
- For the lemon cake
-
- 350g/12oz
butter, softened, plus extra for greasing - 350g/12oz
caster sugar - 4
lemons, zested, plus juice of 2 lemons - 6 free-range
eggs - 3 tsp
baking powder - 300g/10½oz
self-raising flour
- 350g/12oz
- For the lemon curd
-
- 4
lemons, zest and juice - 110g/4oz
butter - 175g/6oz
caster sugar - 4 free-range
eggs, beaten
- 4
- For the lemon cream
-
- 150g/5½oz
mascarpone - 200ml/7fl oz
double cream - 30g/1oz
icing sugar - ½
lemon, juice only
- 150g/5½oz
Preparation method
-
For the meringues, preheat the oven to 65C/150F/Gas ¼ (or to the lowest setting on your oven) and line a baking tray with a silicone mat.
-
Place the egg whites in a large food processor with a whisk attachment and whisk until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed.
-
With the motor running, gradually add the sugar until you have a glossy meringue.
-
Spread the meringue very thinly over the silicone lined baking tray using a palette knife.
-
Bake in the oven for 3-4 hours, or until completely dried out (this will take less time if your oven temperature is higher than recommended).
-
Remove shards of the cooked meringue from the silicone mat using a palette knife and set aside.
-
For the lemon slices, preheat the oven to 65C/150F/Gas ¼ (or to the lowest setting on your oven) and line a baking tray with a silicone mat or baking parchment.
-
Put the lemon slices onto the trays and place in the oven for about three hours or until dried out.
-
For the lemon cake, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line a square 20cm/8in cake tin.
-
Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and juice.
-
Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is well combined.
-
Sift the baking powder and self-raising flour together in a bowl then fold into the cake mixture.
-
Pour the cake batter into the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until risen and golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Run a round-bladed knife around the inside edge of the tin to loosen the cake. Remove the cake from the tin and set aside to cool completely on a rack.
-
For the lemon curd, place the lemon zest, juice, butter and sugar into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Don’t let the bowl touch the water).
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Whisk occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved then beat in the eggs and whisk until thickened and cooked through.
-
Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
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For the lemon cream, place the mascarpone into a bowl and beat to soften.
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Pour in the double cream, icing sugar and lemon juice.
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Whisk until the mixture forms soft peaks when the whisk is removed.
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Fold the lemon curd into the lemon cream.
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Serve slices of the cake with a spoonful of the lemon cream and decorate with shards of meringue and a couple of lemon slices.