LEMON MERINGUE

Our version of a much-loved classic. We make ours in individual portions. Start these a day ahead, as the lemon curd needs to set in the fridge overnight before using. Also make the lemon cakes the day before, so they will be less crumbly to cut.

MAKES 6

BASE

½ quantity of sweet pastry

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF/Gas 4). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out the pastry to about 4 mm (¹/₆ inch) thick. Cut out six 9 cm (3½ inch) discs. Place on the baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden.

LEMON CAKES

110 g (3¾ oz) butter

grated zest of 1 lemon

115 g (4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

2 eggs

120 g (4¼ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF/Gas 4). Line six holes of a 125 ml (½ cup) muffin tin with paper cases.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, lemon zest and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat until smooth. Fold in the flour and baking powder.

Spoon the batter into the paper cases; we like to pipe the mixture into the cases as this usually gives a nice even top.

Bake for 12 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out, remove the paper cases and set aside.

ITALIAN MERINGUE

200 g (7 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

130 g (4½ oz) egg whites

Put the sugar in a saucepan with 65 ml (2 fl oz) of water. Bring to the boil and cook to the soft-ball stage (118ºC/245ºF on a sugar thermometer).

Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then very carefully pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl. Whisk for a further 10 minutes, or until cool.

TO ASSEMBLE

½ quantity of lemon curd

We use a cake wheel to make assembling these easier, but a plate placed on top of an upturned bowl seems to work well at home.

Use a cookie cutter to cut out the centre of each lemon cake, so you are left with a ring about 1 cm (½ inch) wide (the cut-out centres will sustain you during the following steps).

Place a ring of cake on top of a pastry disc and fill the hole with lemon curd. Cover the entire cake with meringue and pull out the kitchen blowtorch to make it a pretty colour.

These will sit quite happily for several hours before serving.