Is The Lemon Meringue Cake Fully Cooked?

Our answer

Nigella's Lemon Meringue Cake (from FEAST) has layers of meringue-topped sponge that are sandwiched with a mixture of lemon curd and cream.

The sponge layers and meringue are cooked for 20-25 minutes in an oven that has been heated to 200c/180c fan/400F. This is enough to cook the sponge layers through thoroughly and even though the meringue may be a little soft in the centre, the egg whites will have been heated enough to pasteurise them. If you use store-bought lemon curd then this is usually made with pasteurised eggs, or has been cooked long enough and at the correct temperature to pasteurise them.