Lemon Meringue Layered Cake Recipes

LEMON MERINGUE LAYERED CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Prepare cake batter and bake as directed on package for 2 (9-inch) round layers, blending half the lemon zest into batter before pouring into prepared pans. Cool cakes in pans 10 min. Invert onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.
• Meanwhile, mix cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. sugar in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in water. Bring to boil on medium heat; cook 8 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add dry gelatin mix; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in lemon juice and remaining zest. Refrigerate 40 min. or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
• Heat oven to 450ºF. Place 1 cake layer on parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in small bowl with mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in remaining sugar until stiff peaks form; spread onto top of cake layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake 5 to 7 min. or until meringue is golden brown.
• Place remaining cake layer on serving plate; spread with gelatin mixture, then COOL WHIP. Top with meringue-topped cake layer.

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, water and oil. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. , Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks., For filling, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in water and juice until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir for 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; gently stir in butter and lemon zest. Cool completely., For meringue, in a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. , Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on an ovenproof serving plate; spread with a third of the filling. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer. , Spread meringue over top and sides. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool. Store in the refrigerator.

LEMON LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 2 greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease parchment., Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon zest and juice. In a small bowl, mix sour cream and milk. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 24-28 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool slightly., For syrup, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Cool completely., For frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth; beat in confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and salt until blended., Using a long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Brush layers with warm syrup; cool completely., Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides with remaining frosting. If desired, top with lemon slices or edible flowers. Refrigerate leftovers.

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 8-inch cake pans.
• Mix the cake mix, water, eggs, and vegetable oil as directed on the package, and pour batter into prepared cake pans.
• Bake the layers in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan at least 20 minutes or until completely cool.
• When the cake is completely cool, run a paring knife between the cake and the edge of the pan. Hold the cake pan on its side and gently tap the sides of the pan against the counter to loosen it. Cover the cake pan with a plate or cooling rack, and invert it to tip the cake out of the pan and onto the plate.
• To fill and decorate, lay a cake layer onto an oven-safe plate, and spread half the lemon filling over the bottom layer. Place a second layer gently on the lemon filling, and spread the rest of the filling on the top of the second layer. Top with third layer.
• Beat the egg whites in a bowl until they form stiff peaks, then gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture forms a fluffy, shiny meringue. Spread the meringue all over the cake like a frosting, spreading it into decorative peaks and swirls. Place the decorated cake back into the hot oven, and bake until the peaks and swirls of meringue are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight, then serve cold.

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt twice. Set aside.
• Place egg yolks in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium high until pale and foamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add 1/2 cup of the sugar, beating until very pale and puffy, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add oil in a steady stream. Add zests; beat for 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium low, and add flour mixture alternately with juices, flour in 4 parts and liquid in 3 parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Set aside.
• In a clean bowl, whip egg whites on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and increase speed to medium high. Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, and beat for 1 1/2 minutes, or until whites are glossy and stiff peaks form.
• Stir a quarter of the whites into the flour-yolk mixture. Fold in remaining whites carefully, trying not to deflate the batter. Gently pour into an ungreased 7-inch tube pan. Bake until cake is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
• Remove cake from oven, and invert immediately. Cool completely in pan. Run a knife around sides to loosen, and remove outer part of pan. Run a knife along bottom and around tube to loosen and remove tube. Turn upside down onto a cake round slightly smaller than the cake, and slice horizontally into 3 layers using a serrated knife.
• Spread half the filling on the bottom layer, and cover with the middle layer. Spread remaining filling on middle layer, and cover with top layer. Refrigerate overnight, or until set. Brush off excess crumbs with a dry pastry brush.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare meringue, and spread it all over cake, swirling with an icing spatula as desired. Set cake, still on cake round, on an oiled baking sheet, and place in oven. Bake, watching carefully, until meringue is brown around edges and beginning to brown elsewhere. Transfer to a serving plate and serve as soon as possible. Slice using a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry.

SCOTT BIEBER'S LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• 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.

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• Make the lemon curd: Whisk the sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, cornstarch and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; cook, whisking occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until thick, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time until melted, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.
• Make the meringue: Whisk the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) until the mixture is warm and the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan; add the cream of tartar and vanilla and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Assemble the cake: Put 1 cake layer on a platter; spread the lemon curd on top, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge. Top with the second cake layer and press down gently. Cover the cake with the meringue, using the back of a spoon to make swirly peaks. Brown the meringue with a kitchen torch. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 day.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; butter the parchment and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
• Whisk 3 cups flour, the baking powder and salt in a bowl until combined. Beat 2 sticks butter and the sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium; beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. (The mixture may look separated at this point.)
• Mix 1/2 cup water with the cream in a liquid measuring cup or bowl. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour, until just smooth.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are lightly golden on top and the centers spring back when pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment. Trim the tops of the cakes with a long serrated knife to make them level, if desired.

4-LAYER SKY-HIGH LEMON MERINGUE CAKE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mush two prepared pie crusts together to line a 9-inch super deep dish pie plate. Crimp the edges decoratively. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream to make a glaze. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork, brush the top edges with the glaze, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Weight the shell with pie weights or dried beans, and bake until the edges begin to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove paper and weights; continue baking until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes more. Let cool.
• You will need at least 4 9-inch spring-form pans to prepare each layer of the pie separately.
• To make the first layer of pie filling, disolve a packet of gelatin in water and bring to a boil over the stove, turn down the heat and then combine 1/3 cup each of cornstarch & cake flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cups cold water, and bring to a boil again, whisking constantly, about 4 minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat. Temper 5 egg yolks by beating a small amount of hot mixture into the yolks before adding them to pan. You do not want them to scramble/curdle. You just want to heat the beaten yolks but keep them in a creamy, liquid form. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat, and whisk in the lemon juice and rind. Add the butter one piece at a time. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and let cool.
• Once cooled, pour the filling into a 9 inch spring form pan, covered with aluminum foil, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Repeat the above steps again, for the second layer of pie, and once completed, pour into another 9-inch springform pan and let chill.
• In two additional 9-inch spring form pans, bake two lemon cakes using one half of a box of cake mix (Williams-Sonoma Meyer Lemon Pound Cake Mix) for one pan, and 1/2 the mix for the other pan. Let the cakes cool.
• You should now have 4 layers---- 2 springform pans of chilled pie filling, and 2 spring form pans of thin lemon cake. To assemble the pie, start with the pre-cooked crust and sprinkle a dusting of powdered sugar across the bottom of the crust with either a fork or a brush. Then open the spring form pan of pie filling and place on top of the powdered sugar crust. A layer of lemon cake goes on top of that. Then place the second pie filling layer on top of that. You want to end up with a layer of cake on the very top, and the meringue topping will sit on that top layer of cake.
• To make the meringue, pour the egg whites and creme of tartar into a very clean and dry copper or stainless steal mixing bowl. Beat on a low speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add in the salt and extra-fine sugar, but very very slowly, and gradually turn up the speed of the mixer. You want the egg white to beat till they form soft shiny frothy peaks, but not so stiff that they aren't flexible enough to swirl. Add the Vanilla at the very last moment. With a rubber spatula, swirl the beaten meringue into a 9-inch spring form pan, covering the entire perimeter of the pan and bake for 6 minutes or until lightly brown.
• Let the Meringue topping cool for at least a half hour, then undo the spring form pan and place on top of the other cake/pie layers.

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• Grease and flour two 8 inch round layer cake pans.
• Make, bake and cool cake according to package directions.
• Cook pudding as directed on package for pie filling.
• Cool for 30 minutes, stirring several times.
• Beat egg whites until frothy.
• Gradually add in sugar beating until stiff but not dry.
• With long serrated knife, split each cake layer into 2 thin layers.
• Place one cake on oven proof plate.
• Spread 1/4 of lemon pudding on cake and repeat with all cakes, ending with lemon pudding on top.
• Spread meringue around sides of cake, making elegant swirls.
• Bake at 450°F for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Cool to room temp before serving.
• Store in refrigerator.

LEMON MERINGUE CAKE WITH LEMON CURD FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• For meringue, beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl stiff peaks form. Slowly add powdered sugar and continue beating until mixture is thick and creamy. Beat in vanilla. Mound meringue into two 8-inch circles (one on each baking sheet)
• Reduce the temperature to 245 degrees F (118 degrees C) and place meringues in the oven. Cook for 90 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave meringues in until cooled, 2 to 4 hours. Remove from the oven and set aside until needed.
• While the meringue is cooling, prepare lemon curd filling: Bring water to a steady simmer in a double-boiler pan over medium heat. In the top portion of the double boiler, off the heat, whisk together lemon juice, eggs, and egg yolks. Place the top portion of the double boiler over the simmering water and continue to whisk until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add butter and whisk until it is melted into the mixture. Remove from the heat, cover, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom pan with parchment paper and spray that with cooking spray. Dust with flour.
• Prepare cake: Sift cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
• Cream sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until incorporated. Mix in milk, lemon zest, and vanilla and lemon extracts until smooth. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove cake from the oven and set on a wire rack until completely cool, about 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges to ensure the sides are free; remove cake from the pan and set aside.
• Whip cream for topping in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl with an electric mixer. Add sugar and beat until incorporated.
• Place one meringue on a platter. Drizzle with some lemon curd and place the cake layer on top. Drizzle more lemon curd and place the second meringue on top. Top with whipped cream and garnish with lemon zest.