Lemon Poppy Seed Angel Food Cake with Lemon–Cream Cheese Glaze Recipe - bhaarat recipe

JUST A TABLESPOON OF POPPY SEEDS is enough to speckle the cake without weighing it down. The glaze is optional, but it adds a wonderful richness to the lighter-than-air cake.

Ingredients

Serves 8 to 10 

For the cake 

1 cupcake flour 

1 1⁄2 cups sugar

1 ⁄4 teaspoon salt 

12 large egg whites 

1 teaspoon cream of tartar 

1 1⁄2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 

1 tablespoon poppy seeds 

1⁄2 teaspoon pure lemon extract 

1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

For the glaze 

6 ounces cream cheese, softened 

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 

1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1⁄2 cup heavy cream 

1 1⁄4 cups confectioners’ sugar

How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Angel Food Cake?

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have ready a 9-inch ungreased angel food tube pan with a removable bottom. 

2. Combine the flour, 3⁄4 cup sugar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly to break up any lumps. Set aside. 

3. Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl and whip them with an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat on medium speed until the egg whites begin to turn white. With the mixer still on medium speed, pour in the remaining 3⁄4 cup sugar in a slow, steady stream and whip until the whites are shiny white and just hold soft, floppy peaks when the whisk is lifted from the mixture. Stir in the zest, poppy seeds, and lemon and vanilla extracts until just mixed in. 

4. Place a small fine-mesh strainer over the bowl of egg whites and strain about 1⁄4 cup of the flour mixture into the egg white mixture. Gently fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture in 1⁄4-cup increments until all of it have been folded in. Pour the batter into the tube pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and the top springs back when you touch it, about 50 minutes. 

5. Remove the pan from the oven. If your pan has feet, invert the pan onto a heatproof surface and allow it to cool. If your pan doesn’t have feet, invert 4 heatproof drinking glasses on the counter and rest the inverted pan on top of the glasses to allow air to circulate around the cake while it cools. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 1 hour or for up to 6 hours.

How to make the glaze?

1. Combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, heavy cream, and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. 

2. To remove the cake from the pan, run a sharp paring knife around the edges, being careful to leave the golden crust intact. Remove the sides of the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving platter. Run the paring knife under the removable bottom of the pan and lift it off the cake. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let stand for 30 minutes to set before slicing and serving. 

3. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.