Summer Refreshing: Lemon Coconut Cake with Fluffy Meringue and Lemon Curd

This dessert recipe is for all my citrus lovers. Each bite is packed with buttery coconut bits, perfectly balanced by the silky texture of toasted swiss meringue and a bright, tangy lemon curd.

This lemon cake goes well with black tea or coffee on weekends. Hope you get a chance to make this and enjoy this summery treat.

🍰Tips

‧ Leave all ingredients at room temperature, especially eggs and cream.

‧ When working with raw egg whites, heat them to 80°C /176°F to ensure safety and prevent any risk of Salmonella.

‧ If your cake batter separates as you’re adding the eggs, add a bit of dry ingredients and mix. And then continue adding the eggs. If you want your batter to not separate at all, your eggs should be very warm and you should whisk your batter thoroughly.

‧After you take the cake out of the oven, tap the pan on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles.

‧Use a silicone spatula when you’re making lemon curd. If you use a stainless steel whisk, it may develop that metal flavor.

‧ If meringue and lemon curd is too much work, you can go with an easy lemon icing with lemon zest in it. It’s simple, but also tastes delicious. You can also skip the lemon syrup, but the cake will be a bit drier.

👩🏻‍🍳Storage tips

‧The cake should be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

‧You can freeze the baked cake(tightly wrapped) without the meringue and lemon curd for up to 4 weeks.

‧If you want to defrost the cake, leave it out at room temp for 30 minutes, and give it a slice.

‧Lemon curd can be stored up to 7 days in the fridge.

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Lemon Coconut Cake with Fluffy Meringue and Lemon Curd

packed with buttery coconut bits, toasted swiss meringue, and a bright, tangy lemon curd

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Jenna

Ingredients

Lemon coconut cake batter (pan size: 16cm by 16cm)

• 126 g unsalted butter
• 126 g white sugar
• 126 g eggs
• 18 g almond powder
• 84 g cake flour
• 64 g fine coconut powder
• 4 g baking powder
• 20 g toasted coconut flakes
• 36 g cream

Lemon sugar syrup

• 60 g lemon juice
• 40 g white sugar

Lemon curd

• 2 lemons
• 2 eggs
• 90 g white sugar
• pinch of salt

Swiss meringue

• 50 g egg whites
• 100 g white sugar

Instructions

🍋 Making lemon coconut cake& lemon sugar syrup

• Preheat your oven to 170°C/338°F.
• Line your cake pan with parchment paper.
• Toast coconut flakes until golden in the oven and set aside.
• In a bowl, cream butter and sugar together until the color lightens.
• Gradually add eggs in 4 batches. Mix well after each addition.
• Siftthe cake flour, almond powder, baking powder, and coconut powder and mix.
• Add cream and fold gently.
• Add coconut flakes and fold gently.
• Fill the pan and bake at 170°C/338°F for 30 minutes.

  The cake is done when the color is golden brown and middle is bouncy. You can also use a cake tester see if it's thoroughly baked.
• While you wait for the cake to cool down,microwave sugar and lemon juice together until dissolved. Set aside.
• While the cake is still lukewarm, poke some holes and pour in the lemon syrup to moisten the cake.
• Wrap the cake and set aside in the fridge.

🍋 Making lemon Curd

• Combine everything in a bowl except butter and mix well.
• Keep stirring with your silicone spatula as you double boil it for10 minutes. The liquid will start to thicken.
• Take it off from the heat and add in butter.
• If your egg whites are a bit cooked, it's not a problem because you can blend it with a handmixer to smooth out the texture.
• Transfer it to a clean container andchill in the fridge.

🍋 Making swiss meringue

• Combine egg whites and sugar in aheat-proof bowl and whisk briefly to combine.
• Place over a double boiler set tomedium-high heat. Whisk continuously until the mixture reaches 80°C/176°F. This is to ensure that it is pasteurized and safe for consumption(salmonella free.)
• Remove from the heat and continue whisking at high speed.
• Continueuntil the meringue is silky, glossy, and reaches stiff peaks.

🍋 Final touches

• Gently unmold the cake from the pan. If it's difficult to get it out, run a mini spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan.
• Add meringue onto the cake and make thick, decorative swirls. The more meringue you use, the more surface area there is to caramelize with your kitchen torch
• Add lemon curd and make swirls with your spoon.
• Lightly torch the meringue until golden.
• Garnish your cake with your choice of fresh herbs, berries, nuts, or additonal lemons.