Lemon Meringue Trifle

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas! It's been great to relax and have some time to myself, but now I've got a few recipes to catch up on this month, starting with this lemon meringue trifle. We had this for dessert after our Christmas dinner, and it went down a treat. It's light, tangy and refreshing - perfect for after a big meal. Plus you get to play with a kitchen blowtorch!



Ingredients:
4oz unsalted butter
4oz caster sugar
2 eggs
4oz self raising flour
Zest and juice of a lime
1 packet lemon jelly
1 jar lemon curd
2 egg whites
100g caster sugar

Pre-heat your oven to 180c and line a loose bottomed cake tin.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until it's light and creamy. Add the eggs and give a quick stir before sifting in the flour. Fold the flour into the mixture.
Add the lime zest and juice and mix well before tipping into your prepared tin and spreading out evenly. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden, springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle of the sponge comes out clean.
Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the sponge is cool, trim it to the same size as your trifle bowl, and place it in the bottom of the bowl.
Make up the jelly according to the instructions on the packet and pour over the sponge. Leave to set in the fridge over night.

Once the jelly is set, pour a jar of lemon curd over the top and spread to the edges.
In a large, grease free mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy and doubled in size. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue whisking until it's turned glossy and holds fairly stiff peaks.
Carefully spoon the meringue over the layer of lemon curd, pushing right up to the edges. Use the spoon to create peaks in the meringue.
Now for the blow torch! Carefully brown the meringue all over using a kitchen blow torch, then you are done! Easy peasy!