In all honesty, the origin of this cake is simply that I cannot make a go of a lemon meringue pie. I've tried, and I've tried, and it's not that I've utterly failed, but I haven't completely delighted myself. There's enough of that kind of falling short in the rest of life, without having to usher in disappointment and self-loathing in the kitchen. This, then, is the easy option. And the funny thing is, the layers of sponge, with their crisp-carapaced squashy-bellied meringue topping are, sandwiched with tart lemon curd and softly whipped cream, so much better than a lemon meringue pie could ever be.
Have a look at Nigella's other easy Easter cake rcipes including Hot Cross Buns.
Recipe posted by Nigella
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I was a bit worried that the sponge would be too dry - it looked that way - and it was a bit messy to make. It was a bit dry. Tasted nice and lemony but I would probably have put more rind in the cake mix. It was very messy to make, though.
Posted by KatharineB on 22nd May 2011 at 13.55
One of my favorite cakes, my family and friends always ask me to bake this one for their celebrations / special occasions!
Posted by jamjam on 25th May 2011 at 14.08
I actually made this a few weeks ago (not strictly part of the cook along) as my contribition to a Royal Wedding celebration. It was a hit! Easy to make, it tastes sooooo good. Nice and tangy, it makes a great change from the normal sponge or chocolate cake. I sprinkeld a genorous helping of edible gold stars (from lakeland) on the still still sticky meringue, and the addition of indoor sparlers gave it a suitable level of glitz and pazazz! It already been requested again, so that is all the praise I need.
Posted by theonlyduncan on 12th Jun 2011 at 15.22
If you want to make a lemon meringue pie, but you do not fancy to go through all the trouble of making a pastry base, it is far easier and quicker to melt 50 grams of butter and then stir in 250 grams of crushed digestive buscuits with 100 grams of sugar. Stir until all the crumbs look like wet sand and put it in your baking tin. push to with the bottom of a spoon to make it all even, and presto! your base is ready for the rest of the meringue :) (another plus is that the lemony juices seep into the digestive crumbs, giving the whole pie an extra boost)
Posted by Virginia* on 20th Jun 2011 at 15.45
Not sure what I did wrong with this. Everything went well until I put it in the oven. The top browned in 10 minutes so I turned it down and took it out after 15 minutes as it was starting to blacken. Haven't taken it out of the pans yet but the cake batter has risen through the meringue, don't think it will be one of my best. Any suggestions? thinking that I should partially cook the cake batter first.
Posted by Mez4 on 24th Jul 2011 at 0.45
This is simply 'Lemon meringue dream cake' I cannot express the sheer joy of delivering this up to my family, fiends and ME! Absolutely the BEST. Thanks Nigella
Posted by Noisy on 3rd Aug 2011 at 11.40
thank you. it was really tasty.
Posted by foboki on 22nd Sep 2011 at 17.53
Vis-a-vis a biscuit base for a lemon meringue pie, I've found that using ginger nuts is tastier than digestives.
Posted by Margo Dunlop on 8th Nov 2011 at 0.25
This receipe was my sons choice for one of our NYE desserts. So easy ~ just need 2 bowls, one for the cake and one for the meringue. And so fast ~ bakes in just about 20 minutes. It makes a nice presentation and quite the crowd pleaser!
Posted by Coventina on 3rd Jan 2012 at 23.37
Love this cake which came highly recommended - but few adjustments to recipe needed for me to get it right... oven too hot at 200C so used 180C. Also cooking time is too long at 20-25 mins so for my oven I used 18 mins (I have a Neff double oven). I also added whole of juice of lemon (by mistake) which was really lemony but made cake bit a bit soggy but still delicious
Posted by what's for tea mum on 8th Feb 2012 at 18.54
This cake is delicious, just the right level of lemon and the meringue bottom actually works. I thought the cake mixture looked a bit dry so added a few splashes of milk on top of the tablespoons Nigella recommends and this worked well - the cake layers were soft and lovely.
Posted by annabelle1 on 31st Mar 2012 at 9.42
It's Boxing Day and I just made this for my family to enjoy tonight!! Looks fab and delicious! Cannot wait to tuck in. Thanks Nigella
Posted by Nilms on 26th Dec 2012 at 12.53
Hey everyone, I have a restaurant or more like tiny weeny cafe... I tried this recipe and it ROCKED!!! Loads of compliments from customers. Thanks a lot Nigella.
Posted by ChocolateFreak... on 2nd Feb 2013 at 19.57