Lemon meringue cake

The fun, adorable and sweet Susan is celebrating her first blogiversary and she’s throwing a party to celebrate it!
I want to be a part of it, so this is what I’m bringing – a light (not as in “low fat”, of course), refreshing and very lemony dessert, that resembles a pavlova. I hope she likes it!

Meringues are “tricky little buggers” - as Jamie would say - so it’s really, really important to keep the oven temperature correct and stable. An oven thermometer is extremely useful here.

If you want to enter Susan’s Blogiversary Bash, too, there’s still time - she’s taking entries till midnight (details here). Did I mention she’s giving away lots of gifts? ;)

Lemon meringue cake
adapted from here

Meringue shell:
4 egg whites
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Filling:
1 egg
¼ cup (50g) sugar
3 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup (80ml) water
¾ cups (180ml) whipping cream – it should be very cold
1 ½ tablespoons sugar

Garnish:
½ cup shaved white chocolate – use a vegetable peeler to get the curls

Preheat oven to 250ºF (120ºC).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat egg whites in an electric mixer until frothy. Slowly beat in sugar. Continue to beat until egg whites are thick and glossy and stand straight up when beaters are lifted out. Beat in lemon juice.
Draw a 10-inch (25cm) round on the parchment-lined baking sheet and scoop mixture into round, spreading meringue mixture to the sides to make a shell. The sides will be about 2- inches (5-cm) high. It should look like a pie shell. Bake for 1½ to 2 hours or until lightly browned and dry – if the oven temperature rises too much, open its door and hold it a bit open using a wooden spoon. Close it again once the temperature gets right. Turn oven off and leave for about 4 hours to cool.
Whisk together the egg, sugar, lemon juice and zest together in a heavy pot to make filling. Combine cornstarch and water in another bowl then stir into lemon mixture.
Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick. Remove from heat. If lumpy, pour through a strainer into a separate bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap into the surface of the lemon filling to prevent a film from forming, and refrigerate until firm and cold.
Remove lemon mixture from the refrigerator and break it with a fork or metal whisk.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue beating until firm. Fold in lemon mixture.
Spoon lemon filling into meringue shell, spreading evenly. Scatter with white chocolate shavings.

Serves 8