📋 Lemon Daffodil Cake Recipe

a slice of daffodil cake on a white plate with lattice trim and a blue material background

5 from 1 vote

📋 Lemon Daffodil Cake Recipe

This Old-fashioned Lemon Daffodil Cake is a fun, cheerful lemon flavored spring cake with a light and airy texture, featuring a simple lemon glaze. This cake has no artificial color and the yellow hue comes naturally from the separation of the egg whites and egg yolks. It's also low- fat, WW friendly and is perfect for Easter Dessert or any spring or summer celebration!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, daffodil, old fashioned, spring

Special Diet Vegetarian, weight watchers

Prep Time 30

cooling time 2 35

Total Time 3 5

Servings servings

Calories 212kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup cake flour
1 ½ cup sugar
12 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
6 egg yolks
4 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoon grated lemon
1 ½ cup powdered sugar/confectioners sugar, sifted

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set a tube pan nearby. * do NOT grease the pan (this type of cake does not need a greased pan). Sift the cake flour and ¼ cup of the white granulated sugar into a small bowl.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites into a large bowl until foamy, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Add the cream of tartar, vanilla and salt. Increase the speed to medium- high and beat just until soft peaks form (about 45 seconds to 1 minute).
Beat in the remaining 1 cup of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time
Beat until stiff peaks form.
Sift one quarter of the flour mixture over the egg-white mixture and, with a large rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture just until blended. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture, one quarter at a time until just until fully blended (but don't overmix)
Split the egg white batter into two bowls.
With the mixer on high speed, beat the egg yolks in a small bowl until thick, about 5 minutes. *Should be the consistency of very thick gravy and be a fluffy pale yellow
Fold in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of the lemon zest.
Add one bowl of egg white batter to the bottom of the pan.
Add egg yolk mixture on top of the first layer of egg white batter.
Then add the second bowl of egg white batter over top of the egg yolk batter.
Gently run a thin-bladed knife through the batters to marbelize, lifting the knife up a each time and swirling it around once. You don't want to much marblizing in this cake.
Immediately place in the oven and bake until the cake springs back when touched lightly, 35-40 minutes. It will be lightly browned on top.
Invert onto a bottleneck or inverted metal l funnel and cool completely, 2-3 hours. If you angel food cake pan/tube pan has feet (as you see mine does) simply turn it over and allow it to cool for 2 hours.
To loosen the cake, run a spatula around the sides of the pan and around the centre tube. Unmold the cake onto a serving plate.
To make the glaze: whisk together the confectioners sugar and, 2-3 tablespoon of lemon juice and the remainaing 1 teaspoon of lemon zest in a small bowl until smooth.
Add enough of the remaining lemon juice to make a thick glaze. so you are able to spread it over the top and let it run down the sides of the cake, but so it does not run too much.
Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the cake. Let the cake stand until glaze is set ( about 30 minutes) *pop it into the fridge or freezer to get it to set faster
Garnish with sprinkles, or edible flowers.

Notes

Recipe Tips:

- Separate Eggs Carefully. Ensure no egg yolk gets into the whites, as even a tiny bit of fat can prevent the egg whites from reaching stiff peaks. Separate each egg over a small bowl first, then transfer the whites and yolks into separate larger bowls.

- Room Temperature Eggs. Using room temperature eggs allows them to whip up to a greater volume, resulting in a lighter, fluffier cake. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.

- Sift Flour for Lightness. Sifting the cake flour with sugar helps create a finer, lighter batter. Repeat the sifting process twice for the best texture.

- Fold Gently. When incorporating the flour and the egg yolk mixture into the beaten egg whites, use a gentle folding motion with a large rubber spatula. Overmixing can deflate the batter, resulting in a denser cake.

- Cool Completely Upside Down. Cooling the cake upside down prevents it from collapsing. If your tube pan doesn't have feet, place it over a bottle or metal funnel. Make sure the cake is completely cool before removing it from the pan to maintain its structure.

- Avoid Greasing the Pan. Do NOT grease the tube pan. The batter needs to cling to the sides to rise properly, creating that airy texture.

- Marbling Technique. For a subtle marbled effect, run a knife gently through the batter just once or twice. Over-mixing will blend the batters too much, losing the distinct layers of white and yellow.

- Check for Doneness. The cake is done when it springs back lightly when touched and is golden brown on top. Avoid opening the oven door frequently, as this can cause the cake to deflate.

🌡️Storage

Store this cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

You can make this cake in advance and freeze it, but I would recommend making the glaze and glazing the cake just before you serve it (30 minutes in advance, as this is how long it takes for the glaze to set.)

NOTE: The yellow in this cake looks brighter in the photos than in does in reality. If you want a bright yellow, use some lemon colored food coloring (1 tsp). I recommend using Wilton icing colors, not grocery store food coloring.

Nutrition