Every weekend, my mum would alternate between baking the world's best (honestly, it is - nothing else compares) gooey, citrusy sweet lemon pie and Spotted Dick and Custard, which was my brother's ultimate dessert.
I lived for those Sundays when I would be presented with a huge slab of pie post-Sunday roast. It was my favourite day of the week, and I always, always wanted more.
To this day, I've never attempted to make a Lemon Meringue Pie as I just know that it wouldn't live up to my mum's. Plus, there's also the key fact that I'm too lazy to make pastry from scratch.
I may be lazy, but at least I'm honest.
However, Nigella Lawson's Lemon Meringue Cake is the perfect solution for lazy cooks like me. Wonderfully easy to bake and (almost) as delicious as the pie itself, this cake is spectacular with a strong cup of tea on a long, languorous Sunday.
Although it may look messy, that's part of the fun! Just watch it crumble before you and tuck in.
Sam x
NIGELLA LAWSON'S LEMON MERINGUE CAKE
Ingredients:
125 grams very soft unsalted butter
4 large eggs (separated)
300 grams caster sugar (plus 1 teaspoon)
100 grams plain flour
25 grams cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
zest of 1 lemon
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons milk
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
150 ml double cream (or whipping cream)
150 grams good quality lemon curd
4 large eggs (separated)
300 grams caster sugar (plus 1 teaspoon)
100 grams plain flour
25 grams cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
zest of 1 lemon
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons milk
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
150 ml double cream (or whipping cream)
150 grams good quality lemon curd
Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 200C, then grease and line 8 inch sandwich tins. Next, take an electric hand whisk and mix together the egg yolks, 100g of the sugar, butter, flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarb, and lemon zest. Add the lemon juice and milk and mix again.2) Divide the mixture between the prepared tins, spreading with a rubber spatula until smooth and completely covered (it looks like you don't have enough mixture but, trust me, you will).
3) Next, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks start to form, then slowly whisk in the 200g of sugar. Spread the whisked whites between the two tins, on top of the cake batter. Smooth one flat, peak the other and sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over the peaks. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
4) Remove both cakes to a wire rack and let cool, then place the flat-topped one on a cake stand, meringue side down.
5) In the meantime, whisk the double cream until thick and set aside. Spread the flat sponge surface of the first cake with the lemon curd and than spatula over the cream and top with the remaining cake, peaked meringue pointing upwards.
