I love lemons. So, when my brother asked his girlfriend what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, she said lemon. Perfect!
I set out to find a fancy lemon cake recipe because, well let’s be honest, I’ve never made a fancy cake before. This recipe looked perfect for what I had in mind, all thanks and credit to Rosie at Sweetapolita! This Lemon Meringue Delight Cake was a big success and it tasted amazing!
I made this cake over the course of a few days, which was a good thing. There were lots of things that I never attempted before and I was happy that I gave myself time to do those things properly. For one, I never made buttercream frosting before…..which I ended up making twice for this recipe…..more on that later!
Second, I’ve never made meringues before, let alone swirling yellow food paste in them as well.
Finally, I’ve never made my own lemon curd. Why I’ve never made it before I don’t know because it’s AMAZING!
The texture of this cake was perfectly moist and the surprise of the meringue discs on the inside were delicious. I don’t care for airy, tasteless cakes and this one was anything but that. I was also impressed by the buttercream, since I’ve never made it before. It was fairly easy to make and it was great to work with. I loved that the lemon curd was added to it for a subtle, yet tasty, flavor.
Now that I’ve made this one fancy cake, I’ll be less intimidated to make another. My husband’s birthday is coming up and he’s requested something with lime. Let’s see what I can come up with for him!
This will be one recipe I won’t be posting the recipe for because Rosie at Sweetapolita explains everything so perfectly on her website. Please visit her website for the recipe and to see her beautiful photos.
* Notes from my kitchen:
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For the cake, I didn’t have plain yogurt on hand so I used half sour cream and half vanilla yogurt and my cake still turned out great.
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If you make the Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream ahead of time, make sure you take it out the night before (like Rosie says to) and let it come to room temperature. I took mine out early in the morning and was anxious to frost my cake so I let it stand for about 3 hours and I thought by mixing it in my stand mixer might help it along. Wrong! I ended up with a curdled, watery mess of buttercream and had to start over again!
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When you start your Buttercream over again, make sure you don’t use salted butter! It doesn’t taste very good but you can use it anyway, like I did, because it was too late to run out to the grocery store!
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Since it was my first time making meringues I was pretty impressed with them, except mine cracked (as you can see in the pictures above) so maybe my oven is too hot or my meringue was too thick? I’ll have to look into that.
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Enjoy!
It was delicous! The cake was so moist and the lemon curd to die for! This cake is now at the top of my list!
Your cake looks amazing, Liz! I’d never know you’d never made a “fancy” cake before, because it’s beautiful. Your photos look excellent as well. I’d like a slice!
Thanks Marcie! I could send you a slice in the mail but I don’t think it would hold up!
It looks so good – congratulations on your hard work! I’ll have one please!
Thanks Nanc! I had so much fun making it – and it tasted sooo good, except for the salted buttercream!
This is STUNNING.
Thanks Dorothy! I tasted amazing too!
Boy, for someone who doesn’t like cake, you sure made a beautiful one. Lovely!
Ha, you remembered Jennifer! I did enjoy this one though!
This looks so good LIZ!! OMG I want some, I’ll trade you a cupcake for a slice?
You got a deal, girlfriend!
SWEET!
Seriously though, you HAVE to make those Truffle Cupcakes girl! They might possibly be the best cupcakes that I’ve had so far….I thought they were going to be delish. But I didn’t know they’d be THAT good! And I am so trying this cake! I love love love lemon anything, and the presentation is so lovely! I’ve never made meringues, but I think they’re in my near future now! I love how you made them “stripey”, so pretty! 
This looks fabulous!
Thanks Jayne! The cake tasted amazing too! Hope you have a fantastic weekend!
I think fancy cakes are your calling! Liz, this is stunning. Lemon desserts are very popular in this house!!! I have to try this for my mother’s day!
You should try it Tanya! It’s delicious and was a lot of fun putting it together!
Turned out lovely, Liz!! Make more fancy cakes!!
I think I will – I had so much fun
Oh Liz this cake is gorgeous! I can’t even begin to explain how much I love lemon (and lemon curd!) and this looks like the best birthday cake ever!
Congrats on successfully making such a fancy cake !
Thanks Jess! I think I’ll be making more fancy cakes in the near future – I loved it!
This cake is gorgeous Liz! You did an amazing job!
Thanks Jessica! Have a great weekend
Gorgeous cake! Would love it for my birthday- I bet your bro’s gf was thrilled!!
If you lived closer Liz, I could have made you one for your birthday!
I love anything lemony, this looks pretty much like my dream cake!
I tasted like a dream cake too Rosie! I’m not a big cake fan and I couldn’t get enough of this one
Your cake is beautiful…I need a slice of that! I have a yummy lime cake recipe you might want to try: Key Lime Cake
Thanks Robin for suggesting your Lime Cake! I looked everywhere for a recipe for lime cake and couldn’t find one that I liked. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Oh, lovely! Congrats on making such a fancy cake, I especially love the swirled meringues on top. (And doesn’t Rosie have the best stuff? That girl!) Hope you don’t mind a little unsolicited advise, but regarding the buttercream that separated, if that happens again you can probably save it. Sometimes it separates if it’s used when it’s too cold. The solution is to warm it briefly, either in the microwave (5-10 seconds) or over a warm water bath. If you warm and beat with a whisk attachment it pretty much always comes back together = no waste! Seriously, just keep beating. It’s like magic. Meringue-based buttercreams are tricky but totally worth it once you figure out their quirks.
Are you serious? So I threw it in the compost for nothing? AAAHHHH! Thanks so much, Elizabeth, for the tip! Next time (hopefully it won’t happen again) I’ll know better!
What a fun cake!! Looking at it just makes me smile. All the pretty layers, beautiful swirls, sunshine yellow frosting. Love it all! Puts me in the mood for summer.
Thanks Sally! Eating it put a big smile on my face, for sure!
This looks yummylicious!!! I hope you share to my party followers- http://atozebracelebrations.com/2013/04/link-party-14.html
Nancy
Thanks! I’ll be sure to check your party out!
Oh my goodness, that cake is beautiful!! My birthday is in August, just sayin.
My birthday’s in August too! I’ll make it and we can share, k?