Also, for a traditional layer cake, try our lemon lavender cake! Lavender is also delicious when used in drinks! Try this blackberry lavender soda, too! Angel food cake is a sponge cake. It’s incredibly light, since it uses no butter, and has an airy texture that comes from lots of whipped egg whites. For this lemon lavender angel food cake, you will need 12 egg whites (+ an additional 4 egg whites to make the frosting). Angel food cake has a sweet taste on its own, and in this case is complemented by zesty lemon and gentle, floral, lavender. For the lemon lavender angel food cake you’ll need:
Egg whites: You’ll need 12 egg whites to make this angel food cake. Make sure they’re at room temperature, and save the egg yolks for another use! You’ll whip the egg whites to create the light-as-a-feather texture of this cake. Cream of tartar: If you’ve never used cream of tartar before, it’s a powder similar to baking soda. You’ll need 2 teaspoons for the angel food cake. The cream of tartar will help stabilize the egg whites and increase their volume. Sea salt: Add ½ teaspoon to balance the flavors and help bind things together. Granulated sugar: Slowly add the 2 cups of sugar to the recipe. Add 2 tablespoons at a time to the egg whites and continue to whip the cake batter until all the sugar is combined and stiff peaks start to form. Dried lavender: You’ll add 1 ½ teaspoons of dried lavender to the batter, and mix until just combined. Lemon oil: For this lemon lavender angel food cake recipe use 1 teaspoon of food-grade lemon oil. If you have lemon essential oil in your house (say, for a diffuser), do a quick search to see if it’s ok to consume before adding it to the recipe. Zest from 1 lemon: Using a microplane, zest one whole lemon. This will give a bright citrusy flavor to the cake. Cake flour: Using 1 ⅓ cup of cake flour will help produce a fine and delicate crumb. All-purpose flour will give a different texture to the cake; angel food cake is one of those recipes where cake flour is best.
To make the meringue frosting you’ll need:
Egg whites: 4 more egg whites are needed to make the beautiful meringue frosting. Sugar: Similar to the angel food cake, you’ll combine the egg whites and sugar as the basis of the meringue. Cream of tartar: Just a ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar will do! Sea salt: Add just a pinch. Lemon oil: Adding ½ teaspoon of lemon oil will give the meringue frosting a delicate citrus flavor to complement the angel food cake.
If you haven’t made lemon angel food cake before, you might be surprised about the number of egg whites you have to use. They are what gives the cake its light as air, cloud-like fluffiness.
Whatever you do, don’t throw away the delicious yolks! They’ll keep for 4 days in your fridge so you’ll have time to use them in another recipe. Here are a few ideas:
Make some tangy lemon curd (you could serve this with the lemon angel food cake for big-time bonus points!) Add some to your morning omelet to make it extra tasty. Make a traditional Caesar salad dressing. Start your Sunday with some delicious eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce. This smoked salmon eggs benedict is delish! Make some homemade mayonnaise. Make strawberry ice cream!
Culinary lavender pairs nicely with citrus, like lemon, as well as other fruits like blueberries and orange. It’s floral and somewhat sweet and can be the perfect addition to baked goods, drinks, and dry rubs for meat dishes. Promise, this lavender angel food cake makes for a truly delicious teatime experience or light dessert during the beautiful spring and summer season.
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