Friday, May 26, 2006

Frozen Lemon Merengue Cake




This is not the scrumptions blackberry cake I posted about - that one Anna made, and I have to wheedle the recipe out of her first - but another cake I made for my birthday. It's really tasty - and it's easy to make, and keeps well. If you have any nut allergics around, just skip the almonds. And if you feel like cheating, go with store-bought lemon curd and just fold it into the cream - I haven't tried, but I have a feeling it will work just as well.

Frozen Lemon Merengue Cake

Merengue layer:
3 egg whites
175 ml sugar
100 ml finely chopped almonds

Lemon cream:
3 egg yolks
4 tbsp sugar
50 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
50 ml water
1 tbsp corn starch (optional)
300 ml whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla sugar

Preheat the oven to 150°C. For the meringue, beat the eggwhites with electric beaters. (A Kitchen-Aid is real handy here.) Gradually add the sugar, and beat until the meringue is shiny and very stiff. Fold in the almonds. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper into a circle, about 25 cm in diameter. Bake in the bottom of the oven for about 50 minutes. Take it out and let it cool.

For the lemon cream, mix egg yolks, sugar, lemon and water in a small saucepan. Heat on low, stirring constantly until the cream thickens. It must not boil. If it doesn’t thicken – mine didn’t – stir in corn starch mixed with a little cold water. As soon as the cream thickens, remove it from the heat, and plunge into a cold water bath until completely cold.

Beat the whipping cream with the vanilla sugar until stiff. Fold this gently into the lemon cream.

Remove the meringue from the paper, and place on a piece of aluminum foil. Use a strip of foil to make a “collar” for the cake. Spread the lemon cream on top of the cake, and place in the freezer. After at least four hours, you can re-pack the cake in plastic foil instead. The finished cake will keep for several weeks in the freezer – just take it out 15 minutes before serving. Decorate, if you wish, with fresh berries or shaved dark chocolate.

Citronmarängtårta

5 comments:

Alanna Kellogg said...

Oh these are soooooooooooooo good! The frozen angle is great ...

Pene said...

I'd want to eat it asap, not freeze it. Not quite a pavlova, but close.

Dianka said...

Wow, this looks great! Rather light and perfect for summer. Yum!

Ange said...

This looks & sounds very similar to the limoncello meringue I made earlier this year - delicious!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! And it freezes so I can use it whenever - if I'm not tempted to eat it right away.