Lemon Meringue Layered Cake Food

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• Make the lemon curd: Whisk the sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, cornstarch and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; cook, whisking occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until thick, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time until melted, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.
• Make the meringue: Whisk the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) until the mixture is warm and the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan; add the cream of tartar and vanilla and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Assemble the cake: Put 1 cake layer on a platter; spread the lemon curd on top, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge. Top with the second cake layer and press down gently. Cover the cake with the meringue, using the back of a spoon to make swirly peaks. Brown the meringue with a kitchen torch. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 day.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; butter the parchment and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
• Whisk 3 cups flour, the baking powder and salt in a bowl until combined. Beat 2 sticks butter and the sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium; beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. (The mixture may look separated at this point.)
• Mix 1/2 cup water with the cream in a liquid measuring cup or bowl. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour, until just smooth.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are lightly golden on top and the centers spring back when pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment. Trim the tops of the cakes with a long serrated knife to make them level, if desired.

LEMON MERINGUE FRIDGE CAKE

Steps:

• Grease and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Line the base with a row of biscuits. In a bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice, mascarpone, cream, sugar and 50g lemon curd until thick and holding its shape. Transfer roughly 1 /4 of the mixture to a bowl and chill in the fridge for later.
• Layer the mascarpone and biscuits into the tin, and add the remaining lemon curd in spoonfuls between the layers. Break some biscuits to fill any gaps. You should have about four layers of biscuits, finishing with a layer of cream. Wrap the tin in cling film and chill for at least 8 hrs, or up to 48 hrs.
• When you're ready to serve, unwrap the tin and turn the pudding out onto a platter or board. Peel off the parchment. Crush 4 of the mini meringues to a rubble texture and stir through the reserved mascarpone mix. Spread across the top of the pudding, then press the remaining mini meringues and lemon slices on top. Leftovers will keep for one day.

4-LAYER SKY-HIGH LEMON MERINGUE CAKE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mush two prepared pie crusts together to line a 9-inch super deep dish pie plate. Crimp the edges decoratively. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream to make a glaze. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork, brush the top edges with the glaze, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Weight the shell with pie weights or dried beans, and bake until the edges begin to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove paper and weights; continue baking until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes more. Let cool.
• You will need at least 4 9-inch spring-form pans to prepare each layer of the pie separately.
• To make the first layer of pie filling, disolve a packet of gelatin in water and bring to a boil over the stove, turn down the heat and then combine 1/3 cup each of cornstarch & cake flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cups cold water, and bring to a boil again, whisking constantly, about 4 minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat. Temper 5 egg yolks by beating a small amount of hot mixture into the yolks before adding them to pan. You do not want them to scramble/curdle. You just want to heat the beaten yolks but keep them in a creamy, liquid form. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat, and whisk in the lemon juice and rind. Add the butter one piece at a time. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and let cool.
• Once cooled, pour the filling into a 9 inch spring form pan, covered with aluminum foil, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Repeat the above steps again, for the second layer of pie, and once completed, pour into another 9-inch springform pan and let chill.
• In two additional 9-inch spring form pans, bake two lemon cakes using one half of a box of cake mix (Williams-Sonoma Meyer Lemon Pound Cake Mix) for one pan, and 1/2 the mix for the other pan. Let the cakes cool.
• You should now have 4 layers---- 2 springform pans of chilled pie filling, and 2 spring form pans of thin lemon cake. To assemble the pie, start with the pre-cooked crust and sprinkle a dusting of powdered sugar across the bottom of the crust with either a fork or a brush. Then open the spring form pan of pie filling and place on top of the powdered sugar crust. A layer of lemon cake goes on top of that. Then place the second pie filling layer on top of that. You want to end up with a layer of cake on the very top, and the meringue topping will sit on that top layer of cake.
• To make the meringue, pour the egg whites and creme of tartar into a very clean and dry copper or stainless steal mixing bowl. Beat on a low speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add in the salt and extra-fine sugar, but very very slowly, and gradually turn up the speed of the mixer. You want the egg white to beat till they form soft shiny frothy peaks, but not so stiff that they aren't flexible enough to swirl. Add the Vanilla at the very last moment. With a rubber spatula, swirl the beaten meringue into a 9-inch spring form pan, covering the entire perimeter of the pan and bake for 6 minutes or until lightly brown.
• Let the Meringue topping cool for at least a half hour, then undo the spring form pan and place on top of the other cake/pie layers.

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 8-inch cake pans.
• Mix the cake mix, water, eggs, and vegetable oil as directed on the package, and pour batter into prepared cake pans.
• Bake the layers in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan at least 20 minutes or until completely cool.
• When the cake is completely cool, run a paring knife between the cake and the edge of the pan. Hold the cake pan on its side and gently tap the sides of the pan against the counter to loosen it. Cover the cake pan with a plate or cooling rack, and invert it to tip the cake out of the pan and onto the plate.
• To fill and decorate, lay a cake layer onto an oven-safe plate, and spread half the lemon filling over the bottom layer. Place a second layer gently on the lemon filling, and spread the rest of the filling on the top of the second layer. Top with third layer.
• Beat the egg whites in a bowl until they form stiff peaks, then gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture forms a fluffy, shiny meringue. Spread the meringue all over the cake like a frosting, spreading it into decorative peaks and swirls. Place the decorated cake back into the hot oven, and bake until the peaks and swirls of meringue are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight, then serve cold.

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, water and oil. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. , Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks., For filling, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in water and juice until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir for 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; gently stir in butter and lemon zest. Cool completely., For meringue, in a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. , Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on an ovenproof serving plate; spread with a third of the filling. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer. , Spread meringue over top and sides. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool. Store in the refrigerator.

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• Start by making the curd. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and whisk together. It will look like it has curdled but don't worry - simply put the pan over a low heat and stir constantly until it is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pass the mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Leave to cool, covered with cling film. Put in the fridge until ready to use, preferably overnight.
• For the caramel sugar syrup, heat the caster sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat until it melts and starts to caramelise. Stir until smooth and a deep golden colour. Remove from the heat and carefully pour in 50ml boiling water. It will steam and spit a little, so take care. (If the sugar hardens, pop the pan back on the heat for 1-2 mins to melt again.) Stir, pour immediately into a heatproof jug and top up with a little extra boiling water (about 10ml) so you have 100ml of liquid in total. Leave on one side to cool.
• To make the cake, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease 3 x 20cm sandwich tins, lining the bases and sides with baking parchment.
• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Mix in 1 tbsp flour, then add the eggs, a little at a time, beating after each addition until fully combined.
• Mix together the remaining dry ingredients, the lemon zest and 1/2 tsp salt, then fold in to the butter mixture with the caramel sugar syrup. Divide the batter between the tins and level the tops with the back of a wet spoon. Bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack, peeling off the parchment. Leave to cool completely.
• Make the caramelised lemon slices while the cakes are baking. Slice the lemon into 5mm thick slices, discarding the ends. In a shallow non-stick pan, bring 350ml water and the sugar to the boil. Add the lemon slices, boil for 10 mins, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 20-25 mins until the liquid has evaporated and the slices have caramelised. Remove from the pan and put on a non-stick A silicone mat or baking parchment to cool.
• To assemble the cake. Place a sponge the right way up on a cake board or presentation plate. Top with an even layer of curd but don't go right to the edge, leave about 1cm uncovered. Gently put the next sponge on top and repeat the process, putting the last sponge upside down on top.
• To make the Italian meringue, put the sugar and 175ml water in a saucepan and B bring to a rolling boil over a high heat. Continue to boil until it reaches 115C on a sugar thermometer. Meanwhile, put the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl (a tabletop mixer is ideal if you have one). Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks (when lifting the whisk out, the peaks should slowly vanish back into the mixture). Whisk the egg whites at high speed and very slowly trickle in the hot syrup. The meringue will C begin to thicken and go glossy after about 10 mins. Continue to whisk until it is still just warm. Use the meringue immediately, as it is easier to work with while warm.
• Using a palette knife, spread a thin layer of meringue around the side of the cake to level and square it up, then spread an even layer about 3mm thick on the top of the cake (see step-by-step for guidance). Put the remaining meringue in a large piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle and pipe vertical columns up the side of the cake, level with the top. Finally, pipe small meringue stars on the top of the columns. It's easier to do this with the cake on a turntable.
• Brown the meringue using a kitchen blowtorch. Finally, cut the caramelised lemon slices in half and use to decorate the top of the cake. Will keep for 3 days in the fridge.

LEMON MERINGUE ANGEL CAKE

Steps:

• Place 12 egg whites in a large bowl. Sift 1/2 cup sugar and flour together twice; set aside. , Add cream of tartar, vanilla and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until foamy. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time. , Gently spoon batter into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on lowest oven rack at 350° until golden brown and entire top appears dry, 35-40 minutes. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour., Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake; split into 2 horizontal layers. Place cake bottom on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread with lemon curd; replace cake top. , For meringue, in a small bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spread over top and sides of cake., Bake at 350° until golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate. Refrigerate leftovers.