Preserved Lemon Meringue Cake

I’ve officially started one of the sections of this book I’m most excited about—layered cakes! And as expected, these recipes aren’t for the faint of heart. They are not always the most difficult, but they’re involved (making it clear why so many people understandably resort to a box cake mix). I decided to start off my layered cake venture with the Preserved Lemon Meringue Cake. The only problem? I did not have any preserved lemons.

I actually didn’t know preserved lemons were a thing; it seems kind of counter-productive to salt out lemons, but I learned they’re often used in North African and Middle Eastern meals. Since I didn’t have any preserved rinds, I researched whether it was possible to make my own. While it is very possible, it takes weeks to do correctly—I had a Sunday afternoon. I found a quick option where I could get away with boiling a couple halved lemons in boiling salt water for a half hour. While this saved the key part of the cake recipe, I needed to complete other steps in a different order while I was waiting for the lemons do their thing.

I moved down to mixing the dry ingredients, which I could then set aside. However, I was out of cake flour after only a cup, and I could not find it anywhere in the grocery store. I did what Claire mentioned and substituted a tablespoon of cornstarch within a cup of all-purpose flour.

After that, I moved on to creaming the butter, oil and sugar. I added the five(!) eggs, but I had to wait on my lemons before I could add the rest of the ingredients to the cake mixture. I also buttered the cake pans and lined them with parchment paper. Luckily, around this point, my makeshift preserved lemons were ready to cool down.

Once the somewhat-preserved lemons were good to use, I completed the steps for blending it into the wet ingredients. I gutted the lemons from the pulp and seeds so I was left with the rinds; those I roughly chopped up for the blender. I blended that with the yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla so all the rinds were barely visible.

When I had all these steps completed, I was officially caught up and could add the wet and dry mixtures to the creamed butter in the stand mixer. The final batter smelled marvelous. It took around 25 minutes for the batters to fully bake. I took the cakes out of the oven, and quickly noticed they sloped down in the middle. I knew this was not a good sign for the next steps in making this a six-layer cake.

I let the cakes cool before I made slits around the sides and then sliced them into two layers; but the knife was completely visible as I cut through the middle area, leaving me with one beautiful thin cake layer, and the second a donut hole. This would not become a six-layer cake…but it could become a five-layer cake if I was smart!

I should add I made the Lemon Curd recipe hours before starting any of this; after my experience with the Meyer Lemon Tart, this recipe is practically second nature now. With the cake layers cooled and cut, it was time to assemble! I cut four pieces of parchment paper into fourths, placing them under my first layer on my cake stand. The last time I did this with a cake, I only cut the parchment paper into two pieces, and regretted it at the end when it was difficult to pull away under the cake weight. This method worked out much better. I took two dollops of the Lemon Curd and spread it around the top of the first layer, then placed on another and repeated. By the third layer, I decided to use one of my donut/failed layers, and cut another donut/failed layer into several pieces to fill the middle. I was nervous this would be noticeable once I cut into the cake later on, but it was the only option in getting more layers and height to my final cake creation. After a few more times, I had five layers, and it looked rather impressive. I tried to put the cake in the fridge as directed while I made the meringue, but it didn’t fit! So, on the counter it patiently sat.

It wasn’t until I read the directions for the Italian meringue that I realized why Claire labeled this recipe as challenging. It called for perfect timing, which meant it would be best to get all my ingredients measured out beforehand. I put my egg whites in a cleaned stand mixer again with lemon juice and salt, and then started the simple syrup mixture on the stove. I let it get to a boil and then watched it get to 224°. As that took place, I started mixing the egg whites so it would be around soft peaks by the time the simple syrup mixture was ready to be slowly streamed in. Amazingly, my timing worked out! The simple syrup did leave lots of sugar crystals around the edges of my stand mixer bowl like Claire warned, but I still reached the firm peaks with the meringue.

After a gentle fold with a spatula, I spread the glossy meringue around the cake. It looked so spectacular! Unfortunately, I did not have a kitchen torch to give it the burned look as seen in Dessert Person, so I took my last lemon and sliced it up to top it off. It still looked picturesque if I do say so myself!

Baking any cake is an accomplishment, but this one is good enough for a wedding (that’s saying something). Cutting a slice from this bad boy was a MOMENT, even with only five layers. The gorgeous Lemon Curd shines through the layers with the glossy white meringue on the outside. And the taste? Don’t even get me started! It was a lemon dream come true. The tart Lemon Curd balances just right with the ease of the preserved lemon in the cake.

Between the cake batter and the meringue, the Preserved Lemon Meringue Cake is a sure way to move yourself up a level in the baking game. It’s tedious, but not necessarily hard if you plan ahead. Recipes like this one make me truly grateful for Dessert Person. I know I will look back at this project one day and realize how much all the effort in trying new, complex recipes like this one is improving my skills and knowledge for the long term. I can’t wait to make this one again, but first, more layer cake recipes please!

Claire has yet to make this recipe on her YouTube channel; I will watch for a release on it and post!