Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cake Recipes Lemon-Meringue Sheet Cake 3.0 (2) Get all of the lemon meringue pie flavors you love in this luscious sheet cake. Close Credit: Kelsey Hansen Prep Time: 25 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Yield: 10 to 12 Serves Jump to recipe What has a light, airy lemon-scented base and a hefty layer of lofty meringue peaks? Lemon meringue cake, of course! You might be surprised we aren't talking about pie, but lemon meringue lovers will be very pleased with this dessert. And you'll love how easy this sheet cake is to make and share. All of the lemon-meringue pie flavors we know and love are translated into this sheet cake. The cake layer is light and fluffy, incorporating plenty of eggs and sour cream for moisture, along with the zest of two whole lemons. The unmistakable lemon flavor is paired with glossy mounds of freshly burnished Italian meringue. It’s a delicious, crowd-pleasing dessert that’s perfect for summer entertaining and dinner parties. 21 Easy, Crowd-Pleasing Sheet Cakes for Any Occasion Sheet Cakes for the Win Just like with sheet-pan dinners, single-layer sheet cakes have their share of benefits. Here’s why we reach for sheet cake recipes so much: Easier to decorate: You don’t have to worry about balancing layers of cake and frosting when you make a sheet cake. Just let the cake layer cool and spread the frosting and toppings from edge to edge. Feeds a crowd: It’s easy to feed a lot of people with a sheet cake. Where a standard 8-inch layer cake will feed up to 12 people, a sheet cake can serve up to 18 to 20, depending on the size and recipe. It’s also much easier to cut smaller portions for when someone who only wants a taste. Quicker cleanup: When making a layer cake, you need several pans to bake the cakes. Plus, if you only have one cake pan, you have to wash the pan between batches. With a sheet cake, you can bake and frost the cake in one pan. And at the end of the dessert, you only have one pan to clean. Better cake-to-frosting ratio: If you love frosting, you’ll go crazy for sheet cakes. There’s no limit to the amount of frosting, sprinkles, and other toppings you can add to the cake layer. Meringue Frosting There are three types of meringue: French, Swiss, and Italian. French meringue is the simplest to prepare but also the least stable. This is typically used to make pavlova or baked meringue cookies since no heat is used to actually prepare the meringue until it hits the oven. Swiss meringue is more stable than French–it’s made by heating sugar and egg whites in a double boiler, then whisking them to stiff peaks. We often use this type of meringue to make buttercream frosting. Then there is Italian meringue, which we use to frost this cake. Its texture and flavor are great pairings for the lemon cake. It is a bit trickier to make than the other two types of meringue, but it’s the most stable, which makes it perfect for frosting. Italian meringue is made by slowly incorporating sugar syrup into egg whites until they thicken and become glossy. It might take some practice, but you’ll perfect Italian meringue—and use it all the time. Don’t have a kitchen torch? Brown the peaks of meringue by giving it a quick blast under the broiler. Be sure to keep a close eye on it under the broiler as the sugar in meringue burns quickly and every broiler is different. Directions Credit: Kelsey Hansen Preheat oven, prep pan, and mix dry ingredients: Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush a 9-by-13-inch or 8-by-12-inch baking pan with butter. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides. Butter parchment. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. lemon merengue sheet cake. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Whisk eggs and sugar: Combine eggs and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until thick and pale, about 4 minutes. lemon merengue sheet cake. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Add flour mixture: Add flour mixture; beat just to combine. lemon merengue sheet cake. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Add butter, lemon, and vanilla: Add butter, lemon zest, and vanilla; beat to combine. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Add sour cream: Add sour cream; beat until smooth. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Transfer batter to pan and bake: Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with a spatula. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes (for 9-by-13-inch) or about 40 minutes (for 8-by-12). Credit: Kelsey Hansen Cool Let cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Using parchment overhangs, lift cake out of pan and let cool completely on rack. Cake can be made to this point and stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, up to 1 day. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Make sugar syrup for frosting: Place 1 cup sugar, 5 tablespoons water, and cream of tartar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then cook 4 minutes. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Beat egg whites: Meanwhile, beat egg whites on high speed to soft peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Add remaining sugar to egg whites: Gradually add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, beating until sugar has dissolved. (If ready before sugar syrup, keep whites moving on lowest speed.) Add hot syrup to egg whites: With mixer running, gradually pour hot syrup into meringue (aim for side of bowl, and avoid beater). Credit: Kelsey Hansen Beat until cool: Continue beating until cool to the touch and very fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Spread frosting: Spread frosting over top of cake. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Brown frosting: Lightly brown with a torch (or under broiler about 30 seconds). Credit: Kelsey Hansen The frosted cake is best the day it's assembled. 3 Tips for Fluffy Cake Every Time Use room temperature ingredients: When you start with room temperature butter and eggs, cake batter is so much easier to mix. The butter and sugar will cream much faster, and the eggs will incorporate swifter and more easily. In turn, this will help the cake rise to great heights in the oven and become light and fluffy. Don't overmix the batter: Overmixing cake batter can make it tough and impact its rise level. Mix just until there are no visible bits of flour left. If you’re worried about overmixing in a stand mixer, you can always finish mixing by hand. Use a flexible spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl one more time. Check that it’s done: There are two ways to test that the cake is baked properly. If you’re a regular baker and are familiar with what a baked cake feels like, use your finger. The top should spring back immediately when gently pressed with your fingertip. Alternatively, you can use a long toothpick or cake tester. Insert it into the thickest part of the cake; if it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached, the cake is baked. Make Ahead Cake: The cake can be made up to a day ahead. Once the cake layer has cooled completely, it can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature. Italian Meringue: While it's one of the most stable types of meringue, Italian meringue is still meringue (read: delicate). We recommend making the meringue frosting right before you plan to frost the cake. If you do decide to make the meringue frosting a few hours ahead of time, it will lose some of its volume but will still work. More Lemon Meringue Dessert Recipes to Try: Upside-Down Lemon Meringue Pie Lemon Meringue Cupcakes Lemon-Cranberry Meringue Pie Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie Lemon Meringue Tartlets Updated by Riley Wofford Riley Wofford Riley Wofford is a recipe developer, food stylist, and writer with over 15 years of experience and holds a Professional Culinary Arts diploma from the International Culinary Center. In addition to decorvow.com, Riley's work can be found in TODAY.com, Delish, Food52, and Marley Spoon.