Categories: Cake

Ingredients

• Meringue
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Filling
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup white sugar + 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250°F, rack in the middle position

2. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

3. Draw two 8-inch diameter circles on your paper, using a round 8-inch cake pan as a guide.

4. Spray the paper with Pam, or other non-stick cooking spray, and sprinkle it lightly with flour.

5. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff enough to hold a soft peak. Add ⅔ cup of the sugar gradually, sprinkling it in and beating hard after each sprinkling. Pour in the vanilla extract and sprinkle in the rest of the sugar

6. Mix it in very gently or fold in with an angel food cake whisk until the meringue is smooth.

7. Spoon half the meringue neatly into one of the 8-inch circles. Smooth the top—it should be about ¾ inch thick. Spoon the remaining meringue into the second circle and smooth the top.

8. Bake at 250°F for one hour, or until slightly golden on top and the surface is hard when touched.

9. Cool completely on the cookie sheet on a wire rack.

10. When the meringues are cool, gently loosen them by peeling off the paper. Put them back on the paper loose, and move them to a cool, dry place.

11. Filling

12. Beat the egg yolks with ½ cup sugar until smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest.

13. Cook in the top of a double boiler, over gently boiling water until the egg yolk mixture is smooth and as thick as mayonnaise.

14. Move the top part of the double boiler to a cold burner and let the mixture cool while you complete the rest of the recipe.

15. Pour the vanilla into the cream. Whip the cream just until it holds a peak. Don’t over beat.

16. Beat in the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Slowly stir the whipped cream mixture into the warm lemon mixture until you have a light, smooth sauce.

17. Cover it and refrigerate the sauce until you’re ready to serve.

18. To assemble, get out the meringues and the lemon filling. Decide which meringue looks best and set that aside for the top. Place the other meringue on a cake plate.

19. Spoon half of the lemon filling over the top of the meringue on the cake plate. Spread it with a rubber spatula so it’s almost out to the edge.

20. Put the best-looking meringue on top. Spoon the rest of the lemon filling on top of that meringue and spread it out with a rubber spatula.

21. To serve, cut pie-shaped wedges at the table and transfer them to dessert plates. This is a light, sugary but tart, totally satisfying summer dessert.

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