Luscious Lemon Meringue Cake

If I had to dream up a perfect cake, this really would come very close. It's packed full of flavour with a powerful lemony zing as well as a wonderful sweetness from the meringue. Everything about this cake is light; the sponge itself is incredibly airy, the lemon curd in the centre is totally mouth-watering and of course the meringue is cloud-like in texture and heavenly in flavour, like a gift from god.

Taste aside, this cake also looks spectacular! Your friends and family are bound to be wowed when you bring this beauty out for dessert. The peaks are singed (either with a blowtorch or your grill) which makes for a truly appetising appearance.

Luscious Lemon Meringue Cake

250g best quality lemon curd, chilled

For the whisked sponges:

4 medium eggs

120g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

A pinch of salt

For the lemon syrup:

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

75g caster sugar

For the meringue frosting:

2 medium egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

A good pinch of salt

4 tbsp water

300g caster sugar

Preheat your oven to 180C/Gas 4 and line and grease two deep 8-inch cake tins. To make the sponges, whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until frothy. Add the sugar and whisk for about 5 minutes until the mixture has expanded and has become mousse-like - stop whisking when it makes a ribbon-like trail when the whisk is lifted out. 

Sift a third of the flour plus the salt into the bowl and gently fold into the mixture using a metal spoon. Add the rest of the flour in two batches, and stop folding when you can no longer see specks of flour.

Divide the mixture equally between the tins and gently spread evenly. Bake for 17-20 minutes until a light golden brown and the top of each sponge springs back when gently pressed in the centre.

While the sponges are baking, cover a wire rack with greaseproof paper and sprinkle liberally with caster sugar. As soon as the sponges are ready, remove them from the oven. Pop out of the tins and place onto the sugared paper so they are upside down. Carefully remove the lining paper and leave until cold.

While the sponges are cooling, make the lemon syrup. Put the sugar and lemon zest and juice into a small, heavy-based pan and heat gently until the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn up the heat slightly to bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes to make a light syrup. Keep hot.

Place one sponge, still face down, onto a serving plate or platter and brush half the hot syrup. Brush the second sponge, still on the wire rack, with the rest of the syrup and leave to soak in for an hour.

Spread the chilled lemon curd over the sponge on the serving plate/platter. Set the second sponge, sugared side facing upward, on top. Lightly cover with cling film and chill for a few hours - I put mine in the garage!

For the meringue frosting, put all the ingredients into a large heatproof bowl and beat with a handheld electric mixer on low speed for a minute. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water (don't let the base touch the water) and whisk on high speed for 7 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and whisk for a further 5 minutes until cold.

Now work quickly, while the meringue is still pliable. Remove the cake from the fridge - or the garage! - and rapidly cover the top and sides with meringue, swirling and peaking it with the base of your spoon or a palette knife. Once finished, lightly brown with a blowtorch or whack under the grill for 2-3 minutes. Leave uncovered in a cool place to firm up before cutting.

TIP: This cake can be stored in an airtight container for a few days and it will remain fresh.