Another Treat from Tartine

I've been off this week, and I guess I'm on a "staycation" since I haven't traveled anywhere and just hung out at home. But despite being home, I feel like I've spent as much money and ate as much food as if I were on vacation.

And it looks like getting together with friends, especially anywhere near the Mission District's 18th Street corridor, means a visit to Bi-Rite Creamery for some ice cream and then a trip to Tartine Bakery. It's like an annual trip now for me. This time I spotted a girl carrying a plate with this beautiful-looking cake. When I got to the counter, I found out it was a lemon meringue cake (that's right, not a pie) and picked up a piece for myself to take home.

The layered cake was just like eating a meringue pie with the tart and dense lemon cake with layers of curd. But I found my favorite part was the meringue, which is surprising because I generally think of the meringue as a puff of air and tasteless. This was fluffy and subtly sweet and I think I could have just eaten that.

So as you can see, I've been eating all the sugar before the new year begins. Hope you're all having a great last day of 2008, and here's to more fluffy meringues in 2009!