Lemon Meringue Cake
Lemon Meringue Cake
This lemon meringue cake recipe is a great step up from my favourite lemon loaf recipe.
It’s three lemon sponge cake layers sandwiched with a sweet lemon cream, then finished with a stunning italian meringue topping. It’s sort of like a lemon meringue pie in cake format!
If you love the lemon flavour, you could make a lemon curd to sandwich in between the cake layers too.
Watch the video and follow the step-by-step recipe to make this stunning lemon cake with lemon meringue frosting.
Looking for more recipes? Try my triple chocolate layer cakeΒ for a challenge, or my lemon blueberry loaf cake if lemon cakes are your thing!
Β

Ingredients
Method
Into a medium saucepan, add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, zest & icing sugar. Whisk it to combine.
Add in the eggs and egg yolks and place the pan over a medium low heat.
Whisk constantly, until it reaches a temperature of 85C/185F on a digital thermometer. This temperature is important for the consistency, but be careful not to overcook it or you will scramble the eggs (really whisk the edges of the saucepan so nothing scrambles around the outside too). Once at temperature pass it through a sieve (placed on top of a bowl) with a spatula to get rid of any lumps.
Add in the white chocolate, and whisk to combine until the chocolate has completely melted.
Finally, pour in the cold cream and blend (or whisk) until you have a smooth emulsified mixture. Place a sheet of clingfilm directly on the surface and chill it for 3-4 hours in the fridge. It needs to be cold to the touch when ready.
Pre-heat the oven to 190C/375F, Non-Fan Assisted.
Into a small saucepan, add the unsalted butter and melt it over a low heat, then set it to one side to cool slightly.
Into a medium bowl, add the sugar, lemon zest and the beans scraped from a fresh vanilla pod (if you are using vanilla bean paste, do not add it here, add it with the wet ingredients). Massage the vanilla and lemon zest into the sugar for a minute to release the citrus oils.
Place a sieve over the top, and sieve in the flour, baking powder and salt. It is very important to sieve these to prevent lumps in the cake batter. Whisk these through the sugar mixture to combine. Note - cake flour has a lower protein content so it will give you a softer sponge, but plain flour it fine too.
Into a separate jug, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and lemon extract (and vanilla bean paste if using).
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk just until there are no more dry bits. Don't overbeat it. You can also do this in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
Finally, pour in the melted unsalted butter and again whisk until just combined and you have a smooth cake batter.
Lightly grease a baking tray and line it with a sheet of parchment paper. Pour the cake batter into the tray and spread it out evenly. Bake it for 20 minutes, or until golden on top.
Remove it from the oven, and allow to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, before flipping it over onto a sheet of parchment or silicon mat, which is on a baking tray. Peel off the parchment and cover the cake loosely with clingfilm. Place it in the fridge to cool for 1 hour.
Remove the chilled cake from the fridge and use a serrated knife to trim the rough edges of the cake and then to cut it into 3 equal rectangles. I like to cut mine slightly smaller, so I actually cut it into 4 pieces, but I keep the 4th piece spare as scraps to eat! There is enough cream in the recipe to make it a 4 layered cake but I think it makes it too tall, so I only use 3 of the layers.
Meanwhile, remove the chilled lemon cremeux from the fridge and add it into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk this for around 3-4 minutes, until it has thickened and is paler in colour. It should hold a medium/ medium soft peak. See the thickness in the video for reference.
To a medium bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment), add the cream and vanilla. We're not adding sugar as we have sweetness coming from other elements of the cake.
Whisk the mixture until you have a medium stiff peak. Don't over whisk it so it splits but we do want it slightly thick so that it holds a nice strong border. Add the mixture into a piping bag. Note - this will make slightly more than you need but it can be hard to whisk a lower quantity!
Take two layers of lemon cake, and pipe a border of whipped cream around the outer edges. Then scoop some of the lemon cremeux into the middle, and smooth it out so you have an even layer.
Place the cake layers into the freezer, just for 15-20 minutes to firm them up just slightly, then remove them from the freezer and stack them on top of each other (chilling them will make the stacking process a little easier). Take the third layer of cake and place this on top.
Use a palette knife and take some of the whipped cream, and spread a thin layer around the outer edges of the cake, filling in any gaps. Place the entire cake into the fridge for 30 minutes - 1 hour (cover it lightly with some cling film just to stop the cake drying out)
Into a small saucepan, add the water, then pour the sugar on top. Place it over a medium heat.
Meanwhile, add the egg whites into a stand mixer fitted a whisk attachment. Whisk it on a medium low speed.
Once the water and sugar mixture has started to boil, cook it until it reaches a temperature of 118C/244F on a digital thermometer. By this point, the egg whites should be bubbly and frothy.
Immediately remove the sugar syrup from the heat, increase the stand mixer speed to medium high, and slowly drizzle the sugar syrup in, aiming to pour it in between the whisk and the bowl. Just make sure not to pour it on the whisk or it will splatter everywhere.
Continue to whisk for 6-7 minutes, or until the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff peaks form on the meringue.
Remove the cake from the fridge and place it onto your serving plate.
Scoop the meringue in heaps onto the cake, covering the top and the sides. Use the back of a spoon, or a palette knife to swirl and swoop the meringue into a decorative, flowing pattern.
Take a blow torch, and carefully brown the outer edges of the meringue until it is an even golden colour. If you don't have a blow torch, you can briefly place it under a hot grill, but it will be very difficult to brown the sides of the meringue, so I would highly recommend a blow torch!
Allow the cake to sit for 15 minutes before serving so that it can warm up slightly. Once blow torched, you can also simply leave it at room temperature for a few hours before serving - the meringue will hold nicely once torched. I would just avoid refrigerating it again once you've coated it in meringue and torched it.
Ingredients
Directions
Into a medium saucepan, add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, zest & icing sugar. Whisk it to combine.
Add in the eggs and egg yolks and place the pan over a medium low heat.
Whisk constantly, until it reaches a temperature of 85C/185F on a digital thermometer. This temperature is important for the consistency, but be careful not to overcook it or you will scramble the eggs (really whisk the edges of the saucepan so nothing scrambles around the outside too). Once at temperature pass it through a sieve (placed on top of a bowl) with a spatula to get rid of any lumps.
Add in the white chocolate, and whisk to combine until the chocolate has completely melted.
Finally, pour in the cold cream and blend (or whisk) until you have a smooth emulsified mixture. Place a sheet of clingfilm directly on the surface and chill it for 3-4 hours in the fridge. It needs to be cold to the touch when ready.
Pre-heat the oven to 190C/375F, Non-Fan Assisted.
Into a small saucepan, add the unsalted butter and melt it over a low heat, then set it to one side to cool slightly.
Into a medium bowl, add the sugar, lemon zest and the beans scraped from a fresh vanilla pod (if you are using vanilla bean paste, do not add it here, add it with the wet ingredients). Massage the vanilla and lemon zest into the sugar for a minute to release the citrus oils.
Place a sieve over the top, and sieve in the flour, baking powder and salt. It is very important to sieve these to prevent lumps in the cake batter. Whisk these through the sugar mixture to combine. Note - cake flour has a lower protein content so it will give you a softer sponge, but plain flour it fine too.
Into a separate jug, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and lemon extract (and vanilla bean paste if using).
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk just until there are no more dry bits. Don't overbeat it. You can also do this in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
Finally, pour in the melted unsalted butter and again whisk until just combined and you have a smooth cake batter.
Lightly grease a baking tray and line it with a sheet of parchment paper. Pour the cake batter into the tray and spread it out evenly. Bake it for 20 minutes, or until golden on top.
Remove it from the oven, and allow to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, before flipping it over onto a sheet of parchment or silicon mat, which is on a baking tray. Peel off the parchment and cover the cake loosely with clingfilm. Place it in the fridge to cool for 1 hour.
Remove the chilled cake from the fridge and use a serrated knife to trim the rough edges of the cake and then to cut it into 3 equal rectangles. I like to cut mine slightly smaller, so I actually cut it into 4 pieces, but I keep the 4th piece spare as scraps to eat! There is enough cream in the recipe to make it a 4 layered cake but I think it makes it too tall, so I only use 3 of the layers.
Meanwhile, remove the chilled lemon cremeux from the fridge and add it into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk this for around 3-4 minutes, until it has thickened and is paler in colour. It should hold a medium/ medium soft peak. See the thickness in the video for reference.
To a medium bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment), add the cream and vanilla. We're not adding sugar as we have sweetness coming from other elements of the cake.
Whisk the mixture until you have a medium stiff peak. Don't over whisk it so it splits but we do want it slightly thick so that it holds a nice strong border. Add the mixture into a piping bag. Note - this will make slightly more than you need but it can be hard to whisk a lower quantity!
Take two layers of lemon cake, and pipe a border of whipped cream around the outer edges. Then scoop some of the lemon cremeux into the middle, and smooth it out so you have an even layer.
Place the cake layers into the freezer, just for 15-20 minutes to firm them up just slightly, then remove them from the freezer and stack them on top of each other (chilling them will make the stacking process a little easier). Take the third layer of cake and place this on top.
Use a palette knife and take some of the whipped cream, and spread a thin layer around the outer edges of the cake, filling in any gaps. Place the entire cake into the fridge for 30 minutes - 1 hour (cover it lightly with some cling film just to stop the cake drying out)
Into a small saucepan, add the water, then pour the sugar on top. Place it over a medium heat.
Meanwhile, add the egg whites into a stand mixer fitted a whisk attachment. Whisk it on a medium low speed.
Once the water and sugar mixture has started to boil, cook it until it reaches a temperature of 118C/244F on a digital thermometer. By this point, the egg whites should be bubbly and frothy.
Immediately remove the sugar syrup from the heat, increase the stand mixer speed to medium high, and slowly drizzle the sugar syrup in, aiming to pour it in between the whisk and the bowl. Just make sure not to pour it on the whisk or it will splatter everywhere.
Continue to whisk for 6-7 minutes, or until the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff peaks form on the meringue.
Remove the cake from the fridge and place it onto your serving plate.
Scoop the meringue in heaps onto the cake, covering the top and the sides. Use the back of a spoon, or a palette knife to swirl and swoop the meringue into a decorative, flowing pattern.
Take a blow torch, and carefully brown the outer edges of the meringue until it is an even golden colour. If you don't have a blow torch, you can briefly place it under a hot grill, but it will be very difficult to brown the sides of the meringue, so I would highly recommend a blow torch!
Allow the cake to sit for 15 minutes before serving so that it can warm up slightly. Once blow torched, you can also simply leave it at room temperature for a few hours before serving - the meringue will hold nicely once torched. I would just avoid refrigerating it again once you've coated it in meringue and torched it.
Thanks for the recipe Matt, ive made the lemon cremeux and it tastes so so so so sooooooo gewd! Omg
So so glad! Isn’t it delicious!
I love anything lemon flavoured and really want to try this recipe is there any way I can print it l
I don’t have a print button I’m afraid but I think there will be something on google so you can convert the webpage to pdf and download it!
Is it written somewhere in US measurements?
All in grams as it is much more accurate!
Can we double the recipe, if we wanna make it for a wedding cake?
Yes! I’m sure that would work π
How to purchase your book
https://mattadlard.com/cookbook
Thank you for the recipe. This will be my next project.
Enjoy!
Hello Matt
Looks gorgeous !! What size the sheet pan
Please!
Linked in the equipment list π
I’m a retired professional baker and have recipe tested for several baking books. I have to tell you, I’ve never seen better written recipes EVER! ANYONE can be successful with your incredibly well-detailed, yet succinct instructions. I made this cake last night for a dinner party, and am making it again today for another dinner party! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes! Bravo!
Ah that is so so kind thank you Gail!!
Why can you not refrigerate the cake once you have touched the meringue and is there any other way of storing it so you can keep it for a couple of days before serving it with the meringue?
It’s just not ideal to refrigerate meringue. You can store the layered cake for a day or two (wrapped tightly) but you really need to make the meringue fresh
I made this cake and it was delicious! All my guests loved it; unfortunately, we could only eat half and I stored the other half in fridge. The meringue was looking sad by the next day. I scraped off the meringue and tightly wrapped the cake part in plastic wrap and put back in fridge. Made some more meringue next day for it and it tasted as though I had just made cake and was able to share with some more friends. Wasted a bit of meringue but this best way of not having any cake go to waste.
So glad Nancy! thanks for following up!
Hi, Matt! Any way you can store the meringue in the fridge in its bowl (un-torched) but assemble it when you’re ready or it’s a NO for that too?
Unfortunately not! Once you’ve made it, it really needs to be used. But you can use it, then blow torch it, and then keep it at room temp till you want to serve
Why canβt I print this recipe????
If you just click FILE, PRINT PAGE on google chrome π
Can I use this recipe for cupcakes? Do you make cupcakes?
I haven’t tried I’m afraid but should do!