It is that time of the year when you pray to god and believe in vitality and resurrection of supreme power. Over the years as written before my prayers have become like begging bowls. I pray only when I am helpless and grief-stricken. At all other times I believe in his presence but not in praying extensively.The meaning of active praying has transitioned to karmic existence in the last few years.
Living in today’s era where everything is revolving so fast around digital media. The social media left us crippled for time, space and love. The continuum lies in the realisation of one’s existence from one day to another. I have begun to doubt if my anecdotes will be read in this rapid race against time. But since its a personal memoir too I need not fret about its reading quotient. So long as WordPress doesn’t tell me , ‘We are discontinuing this service, please move to our new Video Memoir app’. Blimey !!
I have been reading a lot about flash fiction, which can create a flutter in your heart without delving into lengths and breaths of prose is all so fascinating. I don’t think I have it in me but I still tried hard. The most celebrated , heart melting and stomach crunching story so far has been written by none other than but my favourite author Papa Hemingway. (I am still following his travel trail). 🙂
In a 1992 letter to Canadian humorist John Robert Colombo, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke recounts it thus: While lunching with friends at a restaurant (variously identified as Luchow’s or The Algonquin), Hemingway bets the table ten dollars each that he can craft an entire story in six words. After the pot is assembled, Hemingway writes “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” on a napkin, passes this around the table, and collects his winnings.
I have offered you my lump of stone from which you chip out your story.
He fell in love. Twas Her last breath !
I managed to bake a lemon meringue cake this weekend. Finally its a long weekend…I don’t forsee any rest for my tired limbs but need to get the celebration into the house for two wonderful cherubs. So here I have come up with this tried and tested recipe of lemon meringue cake. I followed Mary Berry’s method to bake this wonderful cake. Based on your preference you can also try Swiss meringue or the french meringue.
- For the cake
- 300g unsalted butter, softened
- 300g all purpose flour
- 200g caster sugar
- 5 medium eggs, beaten
- 25g cornflour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- zest 4 lemons
- 1 tbsp yoghurt
- For the lemon curd
- 75g unsalted butter, softened
- 225g caster sugar
- zest 3 lemons
- 100ml lemon juice, sieved to remove any seeds and pith
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- For the Italian meringue
- 300g caster sugar
- 6 medium egg whites
- a pinch of salt
- Start by making the curd. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and whisk together. It will look like it has curdled but don’t worry – simply put the pan over a double boiler and stir constantly until it is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pass the mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Leave to cool, covered with cling film to prevent the formation of skin. Put in the fridge until ready to use, preferably overnight.
- To make the cake, heat oven to 180C. Grease and line two 6 inch cake tins.
- Sieve the flour,corn flour and baking powder.(dry ingredients)
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.
- Then add your eggs, don’t worry if the mixture curdles.
- Start by adding a little of the dry mix and folding it with a spatula.Repeat until all combined.
- Finally fold in your lemon jest and yoghurt into the batter.
- Then pour it into the prepared tins and give a light tap to release all air bubbles.
- Bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack, peeling off the parchment. Leave to cool completely.
- The method is very similar to the macaroon meringue method.
- Put the sugar and 175ml water in a saucepan and B bring to a rolling boil over a high heat. Continue to boil until it reaches 115C on a sugar thermometer. Meanwhile, put the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl (a tabletop mixer is ideal if you have one). Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks (when lifting the whisk out, the peaks should slowly vanish back into the mixture). Whisk the egg whites at high speed and very slowly trickle in the hot syrup. The meringue will begin to thicken and go glossy after about 10 mins.
- Use a bread knife to cut the song into two layers.So in total we have four layers in our cake sandwiched with lemon curd.
- Place a sponge the right way up on a cake board or presentation plate. Top with an even layer of curd but don’t go right to the edge, leave about 1cm uncovered. Gently put the next sponge on top and repeat the process, putting the last sponge upside down on top.
- Using a palette knife, spread a thin layer of meringue around the side of the cake to level and square it up, then spread an even layer about 3mm thick on the top of the cake.
- Finally Brown the meringue using a kitchen blowtorch.
I love the fusion of the cake and the fiction.
Thank you Anoop! You stopped by…..I am humbled!!
This is just beautiful! The written and the captured…both! 😊
Fabulous cake, stunning photos and excellent content. Love it💕
Wonderful flash fiction. In fact I am still trying to decipher several meanings out of it. Great recipe and photograph as usual.