Nigella Lawson's Lemon Meringue Cake

What sort of baker are you?

Do you like to try a new cake every time, or do you stick to the couple of recipes that you know really well?

Recently I feared I had fallen into the latter category.  I can bake my famous lemon drizzle cake pretty much blindfolded.  And whilst I have experimented recently by throwing chocolate chunks into my banana drizzle loaf, that’s been as exciting as it goes.  I used to love finding a new bake to try, and whilst admittedly that was before small people and puppy and running my own business, I am a BIG cake lover and I don’t want to miss out on all those other cakes out there.

So this Easter I decided to try a cake I’ve been eyeing up in Nigella Lawson’s Feast cookbook for at least a couple of years.  The Lemon Meringue Cake. I love Nigella recipes, and we use them alot. Lemon is one of my favourite flavours, and the combination with a meringue just sounded heavenly.  My mum used to make the most delicious lemon meringue pie in the world and I miss it but don’t yet feel brave enough to make my own, so this cake seemed like a good half way house.

This recipe read a bit strange at first - I think my lockdown brain is struggling -  because you make up the cake element, and split it between two cake tins, then you make the meringue and cover both cakes with it and bake them together all at the same time. 

Then once all cooled you turn one of the cakes upside down with the meringue at the bottom, before slathering it in lemon curd and whipped double cream.  Then placing the other cake on top. What you get left with is a gorgeous layered cake made up of all the best yummy things, like curd, cream and the soft gooey, chewy meringue.  It is simply heaven. 

My only tip would be whilst you can make the cake and the meringue the day before you need them, I would only add the curd and cream and make it up the day you actually want to eat it.  As you can see mine slowly slid about a little so perhaps not the most aesthetically pleasing but, it tasted absolutely divine.  I would absolutely make it again.