Raspberry Lemon Meringue Cake

Although my love of baking started at home with Claudia at a very young age, it was reinforced when Food Network Canada was part of our cable TV package. I was in university and still living with my parents when I discovered how wonderful the channel is. I remember watching Rachael Ray with Claudia and us both loving the food she would make and her energetic charm. When Rachael wasn’t on, we would turn the channel and eagerly watch the Queen – Martha Stewart. To this day, I love Martha. She defines everything that is classic and elegant in food and home.

I subscribe to Rachael Ray’s e-newsletter. This recipe that we are featuring in this post is adapted from one that Rachael featured a few weeks ago. I didn’t really like the idea of using jarred lemon curd, so I decided to make my own. With a little help from Martha of course. This cake is delightful. It’s full of bright lemon flavour, with a hint of sweetness from the raspberries. The cake is dense yet soft.

You will need:

For the lemon curd:
6 large egg yolks
Zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

For the cake:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
Finely grated peel of 2 lemons, plus 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 large eggs plus 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries

Prepare an ice bath fitted with a medium bowl; set aside.

Place egg yolks in a small saucepan.

Zest your lemons into the saucepan.

Add your freshly squeezed lemon juice and sugar.

Whisk ingredients together.

Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon.

 Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring until incorporated.

 Should look like so.

Pass through a fine mesh sieve into prepared medium bowl. Stirring frequently, let stand until cool.

Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on surface of curd to prevent skin from forming.

Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour.

You can also store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

While your lemon curd is in the fridge, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, stir together the milk, lemon peel and lemon juice.

It will slightly curdle, but that’s okay as you are making a tenderized sour milk.

With a mixer, beat the butter with 2 cups confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the whole eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

With the mixer on low speed, mix in half of the flour mixture, then the milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture.

Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, then butter the paper.

Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit until springy to the touch, about 25 minutes.

Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes.

Turn out onto a rack and let cool completely.