Lemon Cake with Toasted Meringue

I missed the May selection for the Cake Slice Baker's group. It's kind of 2020's fault because I was going to make a cake that uses hibiscus.

I ordered it well ahead of time from the wonderful Spice House and delivery was delayed until well after the cake posting was due - about two weeks after!

The ladies in this group are just great, though, and let me slide until June's selection. This month I chose Limoncello & Toasted Meringue Cake from "The New Way to Cake."

You may notice a little difference in the name of the cake. Mine became Lemon Cake with Toasted Meringue because I didn't get a chance to visit the liquor store to get limoncello.

I recommend you use it, though, and will include the amounts in the recipe below. Hey, I didn't want to miss another cake month - have mercy.

What a simple little cake to put together! I was kind of wondering about the baking powder (1 tablespoon) because it's made in a 9x9" pan and that seems like an excessive amount.

The cake came out fine though - tall, soft, and fluffy.  You've really got to stick that testing toothpick all the way down the tall cake to make sure it's done.

One of the Cake Slice Baker ladies made her cake in a round pan and it looks great! You just need to make the sure round pan is deep enough, because this little beauty rises a lot.

The next fun thing - using my new blowtorch!  I almost chickened out and used the broiler, but have had this little food torch for so long that I finally wanted to use it.

It went surprisingly well - it lit like it's supposed to and nicely toasted the pretty meringue. And I didn't blow anything up, so I consider that a success.

I love this Lemon Cake with Toasted Meringue. The toasted meringue is really quite a good finish for it. It's a light and lovely little cake.

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Lemon Cake with Toasted Meringue

Yield: 9 pieces

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

9x9" soft lemon cake with fluffy tasted meringue.

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Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ C sugar
• ½ C canola oil (or vegetable oil)
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ C milk, room temperature
• Zest of 2 lemons (2-3 tsp)
• Juice of 1 lemon (about ¼ C)
• 2 tablespoon limoncello (I did not use in my recipe)
• For the Syrup:
• ¼ C sugar
• 2 tablespoon limoncello (I used fresh lemon juice)
• ¼ C water
• For the Meringue:
• 1 C sugar
• 3 tablespoon water
• Scant ¼ cup of egg whites, room temperature (the egg whites of 3 to 4 eggs)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 9x9" deep baking pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. For the Cake: In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat together the eggs and sugar for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick and pale yellow. Drizzle in the oil and continue mixing.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Turn mixer to low and add the flour mixture in by half cup. Pour in the milk and lemon zest. Mix until smooth before stirring in the lemon juice (and limoncello if you're using it).
4. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until well risen, lightly brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. For the Syrup: Heat the sugar, lemon juice (or limoncello) and water together in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Prick holes in the surface of the cake with a toothpick and pour on the syrup, letting it seep through. Set aside while making the meringue.
6. For the Meringue: Add the sugar and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, swirling the pan to dissolve the sugar (do not stir or it may crystalize the sugar). Heat the sugar until it reaches 238° (again, do not stir). It will get to temperature fairly quickly.
7. Inspect the bowl of a stand mixer, making sure it is completely dry and clean. Whip the egg whites in the bowl with the whisk attachment on low speed for 1 minute, or until foamy. Increase the speed to medium and whip for 2 to 4 minutes, or until you have soft peaks.
8. Once the sugar mixture on the stove has reached the right temperature, with the mixer still running, slowly pour the syrup down the side of the bowl, taking care not to pour the syrup onto the beaters or directly onto the whipped egg whites (it's extremely hot, so be careful). Continue to whip the meringue on high speed until you have thick, glossy, stiff peaks and the bowl is fairly cool to the touch.
9. Spoon the meringue on top of the completely cooled cake, leaving about ½" around the edges. Use a blowtorch to lightly toast the meringue. If you don't have a blowtorch, you can place the cake under the broiler for a minute (carefully watching as it will brown quickly).

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Have your lemons squeezed and zested before you begin.  Also, separate your eggs beforehand.  It makes things go much more smoothly.

After poking holes in the cake and pouring in the syrup, I set the cake in the freezer to cool off more quickly.  You don't want to put the meringue on a hot (or even warm) cake or it will turn to goo.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 519Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 279mgCarbohydrates: 89gFiber: 1gSugar: 65gProtein: 7g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends.  This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

 

 

It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for June 2020 were ~

 

Coconut, Raspberry & Rose Roulade

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs

Limoncello & Toasted Meringue Cake

• Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• My Recipe Reviews
• Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sweet Sensations

Blueberry, Lemon & Lavender Frangipane Cake 

• A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Camille Cooks
• Amandie Bakes
• A Little Bit of All Right