Texting, this marvelous, modern invention allows me to talk with relatives I don't know very well but am anxious to grow a relationship with. Since I'm the baker of the family (I have in my mind my great-grandmother's yeast rolls and so many other recipes) its not unusual for relatives to ask me if I know how to make XYZ cake. Such was the case with the Lemon Meringue Cake. The conversation went something like this over the course of a couple of days:
Me: Hey Cuz when do you want the red velvet? (that was the first request)
Cousin: Well actually I don't need the Red Velvet yet...
Me: Aww, but I wanted to at least meet you, maybe there is something I can replace it with.
Cousin: Do you make Lemon Meringue Cake? (LMC)
Me: Unfortunately not, what else would you like?
I didn't hear anything in response, so I thought I had discouraged my cousin. I went to the drawing board with the suggestion he said. My daughter likes the pie so I thought she might be a somewhat biased taste-tester but I would at least know if I was in the ballpark or not. After a few days I texted again, determined to both meet my cousin and now, learn something new.
Me: Hey Cuz... I know I said I didn't make a LMC, but if you're willing to give me an honest opinion, no matter how brutal, I will attempt it
Cousin: Sure, I have an incurable sweet tooth, and I love lemon, so I'll try it.
Now the challenge had been set before me, meeting a cousin I'd not seen in years and making a cake which I've never accomplished before. I'd never heard of the cake, wouldn't have thought to combine both cake and pie but I am at a do or die moment and I'm in the habit of doing! I looked up some recipe's on the Internet. Some combined store bought cake with lemon curd (the filling, curd is such an ugly word) and meringue on top. Others had variations of "cake" from what could be flat like a crust of a pie to a thicker cake with curd mixed in so I knew that I would have to make a few amendments to call it mine. My lemon cake for instance, is not, nor will ever be a box cake.
I made the lemon curd first - zesting and squeezing fresh lemons and preparing the batch for refrigeration. Call in the pie aficionado to get her opinion. She tasted it while it was still hot and thought it could use a little more sugar, while yet retaining its signature lemon tartness. I made the adjustment and decided it was time to let it cool and set up in the refrigerator.
Next I made my lemon cake, baking and cooling as I would any other.
After a few hours the moment of truth came. Meringue time. You all know the secret to fluffy shiny meringue don't you? Here it is... "Cream of Tartar", no, not Tartar sauce! If I had to be most proud of any accomplishment with this cake I would have to say I was proud of the Meringue - beautiful If I do say so myself.
Finally I was able to put all the pieces together, Cake with lemon curd for a nice middle layer and a meringue covering produced a beautiful final product:
I think I had a very successful final product. My daughter approved the meringue... but she was unable to approve the entire presentation as I wouldn't allow her to cut the cake, I left that honor to my cousin. After an overnight refrigeration, we struck out the next day to either sail or fail.
Happy to say it was a success and has now been added to my menu of cakes. My cousin and his staff loved it and when we left, there was a corner still on the cake board. My daughter even had a slice and she swears it tastes even better than the pie alone. She says the cake adds substance. Perhaps they were just making me feel good, so I repeated the process for another crowd the next night -choosing to take this cake as my birthday cake to a celebration. It was unceremoniously inhaled by all in attendance. The comments at first were centered around disbelief in having lemon meringue in any other form than pie, to contented grunts after tasting.
Care to try one? Contact me: 770-314-5932 or akakeryatl@gmail.com
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