Preheat oven to 250 degrees F., rack

in the middle position

(Not a misprint—two hundred and

fifty degrees F.)

Hannah’s Note: Try to choose a day when the humidity is low to bake this. Meringues don’t crisp up as well if the air is too humid.

Meringue:

4 egg whites (reserve the yolks in a bowl for the filling)

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

˝ teaspoon vanilla extract

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (You can use brown parcel-wrapping paper, but parchment works best.) Draw two 8-inch diameter circles on your paper, using a round 8-inch cake pan as a guide. Spray the paper with Pam, or other nonstick cooking spray, and sprinkle it lightly with flour.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff enough to hold a soft peak. Add 2/3 cup of the sugar gradually, sprinkling it in and beating hard (on high speed with an electric mixer) after each sprinkling. Pour in the vanilla extract and sprinkle in the rest of the sugar (1/3 cup.) Mix it in very gently (on low speed with an electric mixer), or fold in with an angel food cake whisk until the meringue is smooth.

Spoon half the meringue neatly into one of the 8-inch circles. Smooth the top—it should be about ž inch thick. Spoon the remaining meringue into the second circle and smooth the top.

Bake at 250 degrees F. for one hour, or until slightly golden on top and the surface is hard when touched.

Cool completely on the cookie sheet on a wire rack.

When the meringues are cool, gently loosen them by peeling off the paper. Put them back on the paper loose, and move them to a cool, dry place. (A dark cupboard is fine—The refrigerator is NOT FINE.)

Filling:

4 egg yolks

˝ cup white (granulated) sugar

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest (finely grated peel—just the yellow part)

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˝ cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

ź cup white (granulated) sugar (you’ll use ž cup total in the filling)

Beat the egg yolks with ˝ cup sugar until smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest.

Cook in the top of a double boiler, over gently boiling water, until the egg yolk mixture is smooth and as thick as mayonnaise. (That’s a little thicker than gravy and takes about 3 minutes or so.) Move the top part of the double boiler to a cold burner and let the mixture cool while you complete the rest of the recipe.

Pour the vanilla into the cream. Whip the cream just until it holds a peak. Don’t overbeat. Beat in the remaining ź cup sugar. Slowly stir the whipped cream mixture into the warm lemon mixture until you have a light, smooth sauce. (Lick the spoon—it’s yummy!) Cover it and refrigerate the sauce until you’re ready to serve.

To assemble, get out the meringues and the lemon filling. Decide which meringue looks best and set that aside for the top. Place the other meringue on a cake plate.