Categories: Cake
Ingredients
- For Cake:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature (see Cake-Baking Tips)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest, preferably Key lime (see Ingredient notes)
- 3 tablespoons almond oil or canola oil
- For Lime filling:
- 1 14-ounce can nonfat sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
- 1/3 cup lime juice, preferably Key lime
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest, preferably Key lime
- For Meringue:
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature, or equivalent dried egg whites, reconstituted according to package directions (see Ingredient notes)
- 1/4 cup sugar
Directions
-
To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray with flour (see Tip); alternatively, coat the pans with regular cooking spray, line them with parchment paper and spray the paper.
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Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour and salt in a medium bowl.
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Beat 4 eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale yellow and doubled in volume, 5 to 10 minutes. Beat in vanilla and 1 teaspoon lime zest.
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With a rubber spatula, gently fold almond (or canola) oil into the egg mixture, using long, even strokes, until just incorporated. Add the flour mixture; gently stir until just incorporated. Divide the batter between the pans; spread to the edges and gently rap the pans against the counter once or twice to settle the batter.
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Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the layers onto the rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, if using, and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
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To prepare lime filling:
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Whisk condensed milk, lime juice and 1 teaspoon lime zest in a medium bowl until combined. Refrigerate until thickened, at least 30 minutes or overnight.
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To prepare meringue:
- Beat egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup sugar in a slow, steady stream. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
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Position oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source; preheat broiler. Transfer one layer, bottom-side down, to a large baking sheet. Spread the meringue on top of the cake, creating decorative peaks and valleys in the meringue with a rubber spatula. Broil until lightly browned, watching carefully to prevent burning, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
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To assemble cake: Place the plain layer, top-side down, on a serving plate; spread the lime filling on top. Cover with the meringue-topped layer.