Luscious Lemon Angel Cake and Roll

Two Things Delicious

(if you're counting daily gifts :)

 

love how tall it is :)

 



Always having used my Mom's recipe for Angel Food Cake, which is fabulous by the way, I never really bothered looking around for any other recipes until I happened upon this one from a cookbook about old fashioned baking printed 22 years ago. I know, "old fashioned" and it's half as old as I am but we'll just let those implications go and enjoy the recipe. ha :) I liked it because the powdered sugar seemed to give it a finer texture, more stability, and it was a bit less sticky than the one from my Mom. I did reduce the amount of sugar but that was the only thing I did different from the original recipe. And seriously, you would never have noticed. No sense in piling on the sugar when it's perfectly fine without some of it. I also doubled the recipe and made a very tall angel cake and a flat rolled one.

3 cups egg whites
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 cups sifted cake flour
3 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fine lemon zest

Separate the eggs while they are cold. It's easier. Then allow the whites to come to room temperature in a very large mixing bowl. They will fluff up better and have more volume at room temp.

Meanwhile sift the powdered sugar and flour separately and then measure correct amounts. Place together in the sifter (after measuring) and sift together 3 times. Set aside.

Add the cream of tartar and vanilla to the room temperature egg whites. Beat with an electric hand mixer on high speed till soft peaks form. Gradually add the 1 cup of white sugar beating until stiff peaks form.

Sift about a fourth of the flour/powdered sugar mixture over the egg white mixture and gently fold in with a wire whisk. Sifting and folding until all the flour mixture is gone.

Fold in the lemon zest.

Divide between 2 - 10 inch tube pans or fill one full and place the rest in a waxed paper lined bar pan (10½ X 15½ X 1 in.) for an Angel Cake Roll and spread evenly.

those cracks should look dry when it's finished baking

For the cake in the tube pan take a table knife and cut through batter to eliminate air pockets. Bake @ 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or till the top springs back when lightly touched. Upon removing from the oven immediately invert the pan; cool completely. (I keep a few long necked bottles, like Worcestershire ones, on hand for this purpose) Place the long neck into the hole of the inverted pan. When it's completely cool, take it off of the bottle and run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake and invert onto a serving plate.

before baking

For the flat cake bake at 350 degrees until it springs back. I'm not sure how long this was but it wasn't quite as long as the tube cake. Cut around the edges with a sharp knife and invert onto a large piece of powdered sugar sprinkled parchment paper and roll up snugly. Allow to cool.

 

When it is cool, unroll very gently, and fill it with desired filling. It cracks easily so I usually try not to unroll it completely into a flat position again. Just far enough so that I can fill it properly and then re-roll it.

For the filling I kept it simple.
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 recipe Lemon Curd
8 oz. Cool Whip

Mix together and spread evenly onto cake. Re-roll and dust with powdered sugar and garnish as desired. It was fabulously light and tasted so yummy with a raspberry sauce! Because we also had the plain cake, which lasted all of 24 hours, I decided we had had enough sugar and gifted this one to the neighbors after we had a few tastes of it. She told me later she loved it! I'm so glad for my neighbors! For more reasons than one!! :)