- 4 egg whites
- 250g/9oz caster sugar
- 2 lemons, thinly sliced and slices cut into quarters
- 350g/12oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 350g/12oz caster sugar
- 4 lemons, zested, plus juice of 2 lemons
- 6 free-range eggs
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 300g/10½oz self-raising flour
- 4 lemons, zest and juice
- 110g/4oz butter
- 175g/6oz caster sugar
- 4 free-range eggs, beaten
- 150g/5½oz mascarpone
- 200ml/7fl oz double cream
- 30g/1oz icing sugar
- ½ lemon, juice only
- For the meringues, preheat the oven to 65C/150F/Gas ¼ (or to the lowest setting on your oven) and line a baking tray with a silicone mat.
- Place the egg whites in a large food processor with a whisk attachment and whisk until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed.
- With the motor running, gradually add the sugar until you have a glossy meringue.
- Spread the meringue very thinly over the silicone lined baking tray using a palette knife.
- Bake in the oven for 3-4 hours, or until completely dried out (this will take less time if your oven temperature is higher than recommended).
- Remove shards of the cooked meringue from the silicone mat using a palette knife and set aside.
- For the lemon slices, preheat the oven to 65C/150F/Gas ¼ (or to the lowest setting on your oven) and line a baking tray with a silicone mat or baking parchment.
- Put the lemon slices onto the trays and place in the oven for about three hours or until dried out.
- For the lemon cake, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line a square 20cm/8in cake tin.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and juice.
- Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is well combined.
- Sift the baking powder and self-raising flour together in a bowl then fold into the cake mixture.
- Pour the cake batter into the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until risen and golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Run a round-bladed knife around the inside edge of the tin to loosen the cake. Remove the cake from the tin and set aside to cool completely on a rack.
- For the lemon curd, place the lemon zest, juice, butter and sugar into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Don’t let the bowl touch the water).
- Whisk occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved then beat in the eggs and whisk until thickened and cooked through.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
- For the lemon cream, place the mascarpone into a bowl and beat to soften.
- Pour in the double cream, icing sugar and lemon juice.
- Whisk until the mixture forms soft peaks when the whisk is removed.
- Fold the lemon curd into the lemon cream.
- Serve slices of the cake with a spoonful of the lemon cream and decorate with shards of meringue and a couple of lemon slices.