Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 3)

The Pancakes were watching Asian Food Channel the other day and saw one of the chefs making a cupcake with lemon curd and meringue on the top, which gave Mrs Pancakes the idea to do it.  This will save all the hassle of having to cut the cake into 3 layers, spreading curd in between and giving herself a hell of a headache.  To solve the meringue problem (being too spongy and moist in our humid weather), Mr Pancakes suggested Mrs Pancakes could make the hard meringue biscuits to top it off instead, and so Mrs Pancakes was "assigned" to try that for Mr K's birthday lunch.

Armed with the same recipe as Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 1), Mrs Pancakes did her own cupcake version of the lemon (meringue) cupcakes.  Due to time constraints, it ended up with no meringue, thus I shall call it lemon curd cupcake.  Instead of using a cake tin, this time around, Mrs Pancakes used muffin trays.  This was how it turned out:

A little too moist this time.  Will do better the next time (hopefully with meringue biscuits) =)

Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 2)

Undeterred, and despite Mrs Pancakes' Sister commenting that the first cake looked ugly (Ha!), Mrs Pancakes decided to make a second go at the Lemon Meringue Cake. Armed with a new recipe and this time a loaf pan (instead of a round cake pan) in hand, she made her second attempt.

Lemon Meringue Cake 2

Makes 1 loaf cake, serving 12

Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
About 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons finely shredded lemon zest

Lemon curd

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

3/4 cup sugar

8 large egg yolks

Meringue
1 cup egg whites (about 8 eggs)

1 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat sugar and 1/2 cup butter until creamy. Crack eggs into a small dish (do not beat) and add vanilla. Add eggs to the butter mixture 1 at a time, scraping down the inside of the bowl as needed. Beat in flour mixture and milk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir zest into batter.

2. Butter and flour a 5- by 9-in. loaf pan and pour in batter.

3. Bake 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, then invert cake onto a rack. Remove pan and let cake cool to room temperature, at least 40 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make lemon curd: In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, melt butter with lemon juice over high heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and yolks. Slowly whisk hot lemon butter into egg mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick, 5 to 8 minutes.

5. Transfer lemon curd to a glass or plastic container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the top of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.


6. Make meringue: Whisk whites and sugar together in a medium metal bowl. Set over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar feels dissolved, about 2 minutes.

7. Scrape whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk on high speed until light and fluffy and the side of the bowl feels cool to the touch, about 2 minutes.

8. Assemble cake: Preheat broiler, positioning oven rack about 7 in. from the heat source. Using a serrated knife, trim brown exterior from sides and top of cake. Slice cake horizontally into 3 even layers.

9. Place 1 cake layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread with half the lemon curd mixture. Repeat with second layer and remaining curd. Top with last layer. Using a spatula, cover the entire cake with the meringue.

10. Broil cake just until top is golden brown, being careful not to burn it, about 1 minute. Using 2 large pancake turners (sliding 1 under each side of cake), transfer cake to a serving plate.



For those who like their cakes more moist and crumbly, this is the cake for you. The lemon curd was not as creamy in comparison to that of the first. Overall, the Pancakes preferred the first recipe. Mrs Pancakes learnt that for beginners, the size of the cake from the bread pan was easier to handle than the one from the round cake pan.


To be continued... Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 3)

Lemon (Meringue?) Cake (Part 1)

Mr Pancakes wanted to eat lemon meringue cake and so he asked Mrs Pancakes to make one. Thus started the journey of lemon meringue cakes. There were 3 different versions of the cake but till now Mrs Pancakes still isn't satisfied with any of them. However, she(or I) shall share the 3 so far.

First try was a couple of months back, where Mrs Pancakes got a recipe from Martha Stewart's website. As it is the first time she tried to make this cake, she decided to stick by the recipe.

Firstly, the cake!

Makes one 9-inch layer cake

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 cup milk

1 1/4 cups Lemon Curd

2 recipes Meringue

Directions

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Flour pans, tapping out excess; set aside. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and the lemon zest. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven, and let stand in pans until cool, about 1 1/2 hours.

Remove cakes from pans. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes. Slice each cake horizontally into 3 layers. Place one layer on a serving platter. Spread with 1/4 cup lemon curd. Top with second layer of cake. Spread with 1/4 cup curd. Repeat with remaining cake and curd, finishing with a layer of cake. Transfer to refrigerator until ready to use, at least 2 hours.

Remove cake from refrigerator. Spread a thin even layer of meringue over sides of cake. Mound the remaining meringue on top of cake. Use a handheld torch to brown meringue.

As the Pancakes did not have a blow torch, Mrs Pancakes tried to blast the cake in the oven to get the meringue brown. However, the meringue did not turn out as she wanted :(

Next, the lemon curd!
The lemon curd was a success as Mr Pancakes loved it! Ha!
Makes about 3 cups
16 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

Directions
Prepare an ice water bath; set aside.
Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the lemon juice, butter, and lemon zest.
Place over a pan of simmering water and cook, whisking occasionally, until thick, about 15 minutes.
Transfer bowl to ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Transfer to refrigerator until completely cold, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

And lastly, the meringue.

Makes about 12 cups
2 cups sugar
8 large egg whites (1 cup)
3 freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions


Combine the sugar, egg whites, and lemon juice in the bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Transfer bowl to the mixer stand fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed for 10 minutes. Increase to high speed and beat until stiff glossy peaks form, 10 to 15 minutes more.

The lemon curd was perfect!  However, the cake a tat too sweet and the meringue grew watery very easily in Singapore's humid weather :(
Not completely satisfied with the first cake, Mrs Pancakes decided to make a second one....
Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 2) .. to be continued

Lemon Cake

Mrs Pancakes was lucky to be able to have a one month holiday visiting a friend who was studying in the US back in December 2006. She remembers a hot cup of latte in Starbucks which was perfect with a delicious slice of lemon cake which she immediately fell in love with.

Since returning to Singapore, Mrs Pancakes has been desperately looking for the same lemon cake in Starbucks. Even when she went to Australia in 2007, she was still trying her luck at the Starbucks in Sydney, but to no avail.

Finally, Mr Pancakes asked her, "Why don't you bake your own lemon cake." And she did.


Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake
Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake.

Choosing lemons: look for ones that are fragrant with brightly colored oily yellow skins. Lemons should be firm, plump, and heavy. Don't buy lemons that have blemishes, soft spots, or are hard and wrinkled.






Lemon Cake Recipe:
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon
2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice

Lemon Frosting:
1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees Celcius) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a nonstick spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and pale in color (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and then add to the batter along with the lemon juice. Mix only until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake about 40 - 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool, then gently remove the sides of the pan.

Lemon Frosting: In a bowl, combine the sifted confectioners' sugar with the 2 tablespoons lemon juice. (You want the icing to be thicker than a glaze but still thin enough that it will just run over the sides of the cake. If not the right consistency add more lemon juice or powdered sugar, accordingly.) Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, allowing the icing to drip down the sides. Let the icing set before covering.