Lemon Meringue Cake

Ingredients

• Lemon Filling
• 1  box (2.9 oz) lemon pudding and pie filling mix, (not instant)
• 1/2  cup sugar
• 1/4  cup water
• 2  egg yolks
• 2  cups water
• Cake
• 1 1/2  cups cake flour
• 3/4  cup sugar
• 1 1/2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 3/4  cup shortening
• 2/3  cup milk
• 1 1/2  teaspoons vanilla
• 4  eggs, separated
• 1  cup sugar

Directions

1. 1 Make pudding mix as directed on box for pie, using all remaining filling ingredients. Refrigerate about 1 1/2 hours or until chilled.
2. 2 Heat oven to 325°F. Grease sides of two 9- or 8-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with cooking parchment paper. In medium bowl, beat cake flour, 3/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt, shortening, milk, vanilla and 4 egg yolks with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. (Batter will be stiff.) Spread evenly in pans.
3. 3 In small bowl, beat 4 egg whites with electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Beat in 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high speed until stiff peaks form. Spread half of meringue over batter in each pan.
4. 4 Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until meringue looks set and dry. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen meringues from edges of pans with point of knife if necessary. Carefully remove from pans and peel off paper. Cool completely with meringue sides up on cooling racks, about 1 hour.
5. 5 Spread 1 1/4 cups pudding over meringue on 1 cake layer. Place other cake layer, meringue side up, on first layer. Top with remaining pudding. Serve within 30 minutes. Store in refrigerator.

Tips & Techniques

• Special Touch

  A little whipped cream, a sprig of mint—your cake’s spectacular!

• Success

  Be careful not to get any egg yolk in with the egg whites. The fat from the yolk would reduce the final amount of meringue you’d get.
  
  
  -Dayna Perkins