Honey Lemon Angel Food Cake with Lemon Pudding
Angel food cake is my absolute favorite. I’ve always been a fan of sweets, but not the kind of sweets that give you diabetes when you look at them or toothaches when you’re within ten feet of them. Angel food cake is a more delicate kind of sweet with a light and springy texture and a refreshing zing in its flavor.
For my birthday this year (hey, fellow pisces) I wanted to make an angel food cake with a little less refined sugar and a little more flavor than a traditional angel food. I knew from the start that it would be hard to find a recipe for flavored angel food cake because angel food’s texture usually doesn’t play nice with recipe alterations. But after doing some research and a bit of testing, I hit the jackpot with this creation. Using honey in place of sugar in the meringue makes the cake super moist and just a smidge denser than normal angel food cake, but it still pushes all the same buttons as a traditional angel food and is definitely worthy of being my birthday cake.
To use up the extra egg yolks and lemon juice, I paired this cake with a rich and creamy pudding adapted from Martha Stewart.
Let me know what you think of the recipe and don’t forget to follow the sustainability tips below!
Ingredients
For the cake (Adapted from Bon Appetit)
1 cup cake flour, sifted
⅔ cup powdered sugar
1¾ cups egg whites from about 12 large eggs
Tip: Save 4 egg yolks for the pudding and use the rest in another dish, like eggnog
1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
⅔ cup honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Tip: the rest of the juice from the lemon can be used in the pudding recipe below
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the pudding (adapted from Martha Stewart)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
juice from 1/2 a large lemon, or more to taste
Special Equipment
Hand mixer or stand mixer
Sifter
10" tube pan
Steps
For the cake
Heat oven to 325 F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and powdered sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or a very large bowl if using a hand mixer) beat together eggs whites, cream of tartar and salt on medium-low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the mixture becomes uniform. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for about 45 seconds, or until the egg whites are foamy and starting to form soft peaks. Continue beating while you slowly drizzle in the honey. Beat until the egg whites are glossy and just form stiff peaks. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract and beat until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
Sift about 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the meringue. This is easiest if you momentarily remove the bowl from the mixer. Return the bowl to the mixer and beat on low speed until the dry ingredients are mixed through. Remove bowl to sift in the second third of the dry ingredients and beat again until combined. Add the last third of the dry ingredients and beat once more. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a silicone spatula to fold the batter several times to ensure the dry ingredients are incorporated (don't stir - be super delicate).
Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until it is golden and springy and passes the toothpick test. When the cake is done, turn the cake pan upside down on top of a large plate. This will ensure that the cake does not deflate as it cools. Let cool upside down for at least 1 hour. Then, use a thin knife to gently remove the cake from the pan.
For the pudding, and finishing touches
While the cake is cooling, make your pudding. Set out a medium glass bowl next to your stovetop so you have somewhere to put your finished pudding.
Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan off-heat. Continue whisking while very slowly adding the milk, just a few tablespoons at a time. Slowly adding the milk ensures that your finished pudding doesn't have lumps or clumps of dry ingredients. Whisk in the egg yolks.
Move the saucepan to the stove and cook over medium heat, continuing to whisk, until the mixture is thick and starts to form large sputtering bubbles. Immediately transfer pudding to the glass bowl. Stir in butter cubes and lemon juice. Chill while cake continues to cool.
Serve cake with powdered sugar on top and pudding on the side.
Sustainability tips
Flour: I like to use King Arthur brand flour because King Arthur is a B Corp! This just means they're held to a really high environmental and social standard. Read more in my post about B Corps!
Sugars: Organic, fair trade sugar is your best bet here. This will cut down on nasty pesticides and ensure that your sugar is produced ethically and sustainably. Read more in my sustainable cane sugars post!
Eggs: Local eggs are super easy to find at farmers markets or winter markets, or even in your local grocery store, so be on the lookout. The great thing about buying locally is that you can ask the farmer how they keep their chickens to make sure you agree with their practices.
Honey: Local honey for the win! If you buy your honey locally, you can ask how the bees were treated and the honey won't have to travel a million miles (read: release a million emissions) to get to you.
Lemon: Get your lemon as locally as possible to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions from travel. For those who live in a lemon-producing area, try to get lemons from a neighborhood organic farmer. For those who don't live in a lemon-producing area, try to get organic lemons from your home country. Also, be sure to make this recipe during winter, when lemons are in peak season.
Dairy: Since butter and milk come from cows, which are just terrible for the environment, make sure you buy these ingredients from a brand you trust. I like to buy dairy from B Corps because I know they're held to a really high environmental standard.