Lemon cake with meringues is quite cloying. In this regard, it should be consumed dosed, along with a cup of unsweetened tea.
Of course, the amount of sugar can always be reduced, but it is better not to touch the meringue in this regard. Otherwise, you can get a sticky and not very beautiful dessert.
Delicious lemon pie with meringues: recipe with photo
There are several ways to make such a dessert. We decided to describe only popular and affordable recipes, which everyone can do.
So how to make a lemon cake with meringue on your own? The recipe for such a treat requires the purchase of a fairly large number of different products. For the test we need:
- sifted wheat flour - about 200 g;
- chilled butter - about 120 g;
- medium-sized salt - about 1/4 of a dessert spoon;
- granulated sugar - a small pinch;
- cold water - about 2 large spoons.
Kneading the dough and preparing the base for dessert
Before baking a lemon pie with meringues in the oven, you need to prepare a sand base. To do this, sifted flour, a little sugar and salt, as well as cold butter, previously diced, are placed in a deep bowl of the blender.
All ingredients are chopped at high speed until small, crumbs are obtained. After that, cold water is poured into them and the dough is quickly kneaded. Performing this procedure for too long is not recommended. Otherwise, the base will begin to melt and it will turn out quite stiff.
After preparing the dough, a ball is formed from it, wrapped in cling film and put in the refrigerator for 30 or 40 minutes. Over time, the base is removed and carefully rolled into a layer of 3 mm thickness. After wrapping the dough on a rolling pin, it is carefully transferred to a deep form.
Lay the base on the bottom of the dishes so that it forms rather high sides. Next, pierce all the dough with a fork, and then cover with culinary foil and pour in some kind of cargo (for example, beans, peas, rice, metal fines, etc.).
In this form, shortcrust pastry is sent to a preheated oven (up to 170 degrees) and baked for about 13-15 minutes. After time, the product is removed, and the foil with the load removed.
Essential Stuffing Products
To make a lemon cake with meringue, it is necessary to prepare not only a sand base, but also a fragrant filling. For this we need:
- egg yolks - 4 pcs.;
- beet sugar - about 300 g (a little less, if desired);
- corn starch - about 120 g;
- water at room temperature - about 330 ml;
- lemon juice - about 125 ml;
- grated lemon zest - 1 large spoon;
- melted butter - about 75 g.
Cooking Lemon Filling
Lemon pie with meringues has been preparing for quite some time. However, subject to all the rules of the recipe, you will definitely get not only a delicious, but also incredibly beautiful dessert that can be served even for a festive feast.
To prepare lemon cake with meringue on your own, lay the egg yolks in a deep bowl, and then lightly beat with a whisk. After that, in a separate bowl, water at room temperature, lemon juice, grated lemon zest, granulated sugar and corn starch are combined. The resulting mixture is put on fire and, stirring regularly, brought to a boil.
After a few minutes, the mass should noticeably thicken. It is removed from the heat and 1/2 of the mixture is added to the egg yolks. Intensively mixing the ingredients with a whisk, the resulting mix is transferred to the remaining half. Beating all the components, they are again set on fire.
Bringing the products to a boil, they are boiled until a thick mass is formed, and then removed from the stove and melted butter is added. Beating the filling with a mixer, they get a rather magnificent mass of bright yellow color. It is transferred to the cooled shortcrust pastry and begin to prepare the meringue.
Meringue Ingredients
To make a very beautiful and delicious lemon cake with meringues, you must use the following set of products:
- egg whites - 4 pcs.;
- sugar is not very large white - about 170 g (a little more is possible);
- vanillin - an average pinch.
Cooking process
How to make lemon cake with meringues? First, egg whites must be carefully separated from the yolks. If the last component randomly gets to the first, then the cake will not be as lush and beautiful as we would like.
After preparing the proteins, they are cooled for about 15 minutes, and then beat well with a blender. Gradually add not very coarse sugar to the product and add vanillin. The output is quite lush and stable mass. Its readiness can be checked as follows: the dishes with proteins are turned upside down. If the foam does not drain, then it is fully suitable for heat treatment.
How to form a dessert?
Some chefs form a shortbread cake with lemon cream and meringue, using a split mold. If you do not have such dishes, then you can use an ordinary pan. It should already have a base covered with lemon filling. It remains only to lay out the meringue. To do this, fill the culinary syringe with whipped proteins, and then beautifully squeeze them onto the surface of the semi-finished product. This should be done using a special relief nozzle.
Baking process
After the formation of the cake with lemon cream and meringue immediately sent to the oven, which is preheated to a temperature of 180 degrees. In this mode, a delicious and beautiful product is baked for 10-16 minutes, until the surface of the dessert becomes golden brown.
Over time, a delicious homemade delicacy is taken out and completely cooled. If all the requirements of the recipe are met, the cake with lemon Kurd and meringue should not settle, it is important to keep the shape given to it.
How to serve dessert to the family table?
After complete cooling, the lemon pie is cut into pieces and gently laid out on dishes. In the context of such a dessert looks very beautiful and bright. It is presented to the table with a cup of hot tea or some other unsweetened drink.
Italian Meringue Lemon Cake : Recipe
The presented dessert is very popular not only in our country, but also in other states. It should be noted that chefs of different nationalities make such a dessert in different ways. However, the principle of forming a lemon cake always remains unchanged.
The American way of making a tender and airy pie was presented above. If you want to make such a delicacy according to the Italian recipe, then for the test you will need:
- soft butter - about 200 g;
- sifted flour - about 300 g;
- large chicken egg - 1 pc.;
- egg yolk - 1 pc. (used as a baking powder);
- granulated sugar - about 100 g (maybe a little less).
Knead the dough
As in the previous recipe, to make a lemon cake with Italian meringue, you must first prepare the base, and only then proceed with the preparation of the filling.
After thoroughly whipping the soft butter along with the sugar, wheat flour is added to it, after having sifted it through a sieve. Also, one chicken egg and yolk are placed in the dough (one protein is left for meringue).
After thoroughly mixing the sand base, it is wrapped with a film and left in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Over time, the chilled dough is rolled out with a rolling pin and placed in a detachable or silicone mold, pre-lubricated with oil (be sure to form high sides)
Having laid parchment paper or foil on the surface of the base, gently pour peas or beans (as a load). In this form, shortbread dough is baked in an oven warmed up to 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
So that the base does not rise during heat treatment, it is pre-pierced with a fork.
Cream Products
To prepare the lemon filling, we need the following components:
- medium-sized lemon - 2 pcs.;
- light sugar sugar - about 200 g (maybe a little less);
- soft butter - about 180 g (or 1 pack);
- large chicken egg - 4 pcs. (3 whole eggs and 1 yolk);
- gelatin in bags - 1 dessert spoon
- water at room temperature - 2 dessert spoons.
Cooking process
To prepare Italian meringue, gelatin is poured into a deep bowl, and then filled with cold water. In this form, it is soaked for about half an hour, after which it is slowly heated over a fire until all grains are dissolved. Next, the solution is removed from the stove and cool. Meanwhile, begin processing lemons. They remove the whole zest and rub on a fine grater. As for the remaining pulp, juice is squeezed out of it as much as possible. By adding soft butter and coarse sugar, the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and put on fire. The resulting mass is brought to a boil.
Beating the eggs and one yolk (the protein is left for meringue), they are poured into a boiling syrup in a thin stream. Stirring the ingredients on a regular basis, they are boiled for exactly 1 minute, and then removed from the heat and slowly injected gelatin solution and zest.
The resulting yellow mass is laid out on the seized shortbread dough, having previously removed the load from peas or beans. It should be noted that in terms of its consistency, such a cream should be very similar to thick semolina.
The formed product is again sent to the oven and baked at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes. The finished cake should grab a little on top. When hot, the lemon cream should look like a tender and soft souffle.
Unlike the previous recipe, Italian meringue requires the use of the following set of products:
- egg white - 2 pcs.;
- granulated sugar - exactly 200 g;
- cool drinking water - 65 ml;
- table salt - a pinch.
Make meringue
To prepare the Italian meringue, sugar is mixed with water and put on a small fire. In this composition, the ingredients are gradually boiled (about 15 minutes). To check the readiness of the syrup, it must be dripped in ice water. If as a result of such a procedure you form a loose ball, then the basis for the meringue is completely ready.
After the syrup acquires the desired consistency, proceed to the preparation of proteins. They are pre-cooled, and then a pinch of salt is poured. In this composition, the proteins are whipped with a blender at the highest speed. As a result of this, you should get a lush white mass. Hot sugar syrup is poured into it in a thin stream. Continue whipping the proteins until they have cooled to room temperature.
How to shape and bake a lemon dessert?
After the Italian meringue is cooked, they immediately begin to form a dessert. To do this, take the shortcrust pastry with lemon cream out of the oven and cool slightly. Meanwhile, whipped squirrels are laid out in a pastry bag with a relief nozzle. With a little effort, the meringue is beautifully squeezed onto the surface of the pie, forming sharp and persistent peaks.
Decorating the lemon pie, it is sent to the oven preheated to 250 degrees. In this form, the product can withstand about 2-4 minutes. During this time, the meringue is only slightly burned and becomes more stable. Turning off the oven, the homemade dessert is kept in it until completely cooled.
Introducing Family Tea Party
After the lemon cake has cooled in the oven, it is removed and left at room temperature for several hours (you can even overnight). Over time, a delicious and beautiful cake is carefully removed from the mold and laid out on a pre-prepared cake.
After cutting the product, it is laid out on flat plates and presented with a glass of tea.
It should be noted that, unlike the American one, the Italian lemon pie is more stable and beautiful. This is due to the fact that during the preparation of meringues, thick sugar syrup is added to it, which allows you to give whipped proteins any shape.
To summarize
Now you have an idea of how to make lemon cake with meringues. Using one of the described methods, you are sure to get a beautiful and delicate dessert that will appeal to both your loved ones and invited guests.