Meringue... frosting / pavlova / discs / buttercream is always delicious (soft and sweet like marshmallow) but it is also very fragile and sometimes even temperamental. So I always try and ensure that these cakes are made as close as possible to serving time. Sometimes, that means waking up at 5 a.m. to make the meringue and toast it for the cake.

This is a two-tone cheesecake... Lemon and White Chocolate and completely smothered in Italian Meringue. I love burning things so had tons of fun doing this. (Yep, need to bring out that Bomb Alaska recipe again and invite some friends over and do it all over again...!)

These cakes are best eaten on the day if not immediately. I guess you could put it in the fridge for up to 48 hours but I just think that there is nothing like fresh meringue. You will notice that there is probably a slightly different texture and taste to homemade meringue compared to the commercial cakes you see in shops and cafes. This is most probably because there aren't any artificial additives to the meringue to help hold it up including but not limited to cornflour, gelatin, bone powder (yes, true, I googled this!), starch, etc. None of which sound too appetizing hmm? Meringue, when you think about it, is egg white and sugar and lots and lots of air. So it makes sense that meringue will shrink and deflate over time, hence why it should always be eaten fresh!

It almost felt like being on MasterChef and the Sunday Night Invention Test!

Was given the last of creating a cake for a farewell in the office this week and there was no brief! I could do anything i wanted!

I knew I wanted to make a cheesecake. And I knew most of the people in the office weren't keen on dense, designed cakes. Lashings of cream and soft centres seemed the way to go. Not to mention that the person whom the cake was originally intended for had just gotten braces so we had to go with something easily digestible!

And so this White Chocolate & Lemon Mousse Cheesecake with Scorched Meringue was born... yes, i know, it's a mouthful. But a yummy one at that.

Have to say it was a little nerve-wracking! It was the cake that I actually made for this office so knew I was going to be on the judging panel (and of course, it was all the more exciting with a couple of other avid bakers in the office!).

In the end, I think we only just had enough to feed the crowds. I honestly didn't know we had so many people in the office until Friday morning tea. Where did they all come from?!?! And very relieved (and happy, of course) that there were positive reviews all around! Yay! Someone even asked where I bought the cake from. Ha-ha... how flattering!!