Peruvian lemon cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 300 ml milk
• 200 ml cream
• 250 g sugar
• possibly cornstarch to thicken
• 200 g butter
• 150 g flour
• 75 g sugar
• 1 egg(s), whole
• 1 pinch of salt
• Butter for the mold
• 400 g condensed milk, sweetened
• 200 ml lemon or lime juice
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 egg whites
• 75 g sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 4 hours

traditional lemon cake in Peru

For the sweetened condensed milk, heat 300 ml milk, 200 ml cream, and 250 g sugar in a wide saucepan and simmer gently for about 40-50 minutes, until it reaches the consistency of condensed milk with a caramel color. You can also stir in 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch towards the end to thicken it slightly. This yields approximately 400 g of sweetened condensed milk. Place this in a sealable container and refrigerate. For the butter biscuit base, either crush 1.5 packages of butter biscuits and mix with 100 g melted butter, or make a simple shortcrust pastry. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a springform pan with butter. Mix 150g flour, 75g sugar, 1 whole egg, and a pinch of salt. Use a fork to work in the 200g cold butter until a smooth dough forms. If the mixture is still too soft, add a little more flour. Knead the mixture with cold hands and line the bottom of the springform pan. Bake for about 25 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool. For the lemon cream, mix the chilled sweetened condensed milk with the 4 egg yolks and 200ml lemon or lime juice. Pour over the cooled base and bake at 180°C for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Beat 4 egg whites until very stiff peaks form, slowly adding the 75g sugar. Spread the meringue mixture evenly over the cooled lemon cream and bake for another 15 minutes at 180°C. Be careful not to overbrown the meringue topping! Let the cake cool completely before serving. Tip: It’s best to use a springform pan. The cake will be very soft due to the liquid lemon curd, making it difficult to remove from a silicone pan.