What do you do when you go on a shopping spree at the markets and come home with so many lemons and limes that you have no idea what to do with them? You scroll the internet for lemon and lime recipes that look delicious! I stumbled upon this recipe for Lemon & Lime Syrup Cake from Cakelets & Doilies and thought it would be perfect! Plus it had meringue frosting, which I’ve always wanted to try make! PLUS the fact that Bella is also from Perth made me want to make this even more! 

You Will Need
Coconut Cake
150 grams dairy free butter
150 grams caster sugar
5 eggs
140 grams coconut flour
1 1/2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
150 grams desiccated coconut
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 lime
430 ml almond milk “buttermilk” (If you don’t have any buttermilk, you can create your own by placing 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring jug, and then filling with milk until you reach 1 CUP).

Lemon Lime Syrup 
200 grams caster sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 lime
125 ml water

Meringue Frosting
100 grams caster sugar
40 ml water
2 egg whites
Pinch of salt

Method
Coconut Cake
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius and grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (this could take up to 10 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the coconut flour and baking powder into a bowl and mix in the desiccated coconut. Mix together the lemon and lime juice and zest with the buttermilk, then fold the coconut mixture and buttermilk mixture into the egg. 

Pour the mixture into your prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until firm on top. Cool in the tin while you make the syrup.

Lemon Lime Syrup 
Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes without stirring.

Pour one third of the syrup over the cake and let it seep in. Wait for 5 minutes and then pour another third of the syrup over the cake. I poured all of my syrup on the cake and thought it might have been a little too moist, so use caution with your syrup pouring!
Let cake rest in the fridge overnight.

Meringue Frosting
Put the sugar into a saucepan with the water and bring to the soft ball stage (115 degrees celsius on a candy thermometer). It will take about 10 or so minutes.

While waiting for the sugar syrup, start whisking your egg whites until they look frothy – don’t let soft peaks form.

Once your sugar syrup has reached the soft ball stage, pour down the side of your bowl in a thin stream while egg whites are being whipped. Continue to whisk until the egg whites are glossy and stiff. 

Spread the glossy meringue mixture over the top of your cake. Don’t be fancy! If you have a blowtorch, use it to toast the meringue. I don’t have a blowtorch, so I put the meringue under the grill to toast it a little, then topped it with shaved coconut and edible gold glitter!