Lemon Meringue Drizzle Drip Cake

It's such a difficult decision choosing what you want for dessert, whether it be a layered cake, drizzle cake, with buttercream, or a pie - there are just too many options [ 1st world problems right?] So to eliminate this dramatic issue I constructed a cake full of every part of each of my favourite desserts - combining a lemon drizzle cake with a tiered buttercream cake AND a meringue pie!

Drizzle Cake
225g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
4 egg
zest of 1 lemon
225g self-raising flour
Lemon curd [for construction]

85g sugar
Juice of 2 lemons 

1. Heat the oven to Gas 4, 180C
2. Beat together butter and sugar until pale
3. Gradually add in the eggs [ensure eggs are room temp so it doesn't split]
4. Sift in the flour and zest and fold in until combined
5. Fill the several tins [I used several tins to create a higher tiered cake]
6. Bake for 50 minutes 
7. Heat together the sugar and lemon juice to create the syrup for the cakes
8. Spoon over the cakes so they are soaked
9. Allow to cool 

Italian Meringue
1 egg white
50g sugar [saturated with water]

1. Heat sugar to soft ball [118C]
2. Semi whip the egg whites
3. Pour sugar in carefully and whisk until mix is thick and cool

Buttercream
500g butter
1kg icing sugar
milk to soften

1. Cream together the butter and icing sugar until pale, adding milk to loosen if too thick to spread.

Construction 

Level the cakes and layer them with lemon curd and the butter cream
Using a palette knife, spread the buttercream around the whole cake covering all edges and the top
Opitionally mix the lemon curd with a little double cream and drip over the edges
Pipe italian meringue around the cake and blow torch until lightly golden
Finish with whatever topping you desire,I used crystalised lemon slices and chocolate coins which I dusted with gold lustre. 

I hope you never have to choose from desserts again, Enjoy Xx