Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake
Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake is light, fluffy and so delicious. It's covered in an easy to make meringue frosting and sprinkled with lemon zest and lavender flowers. It's a beautiful and surprisingly easy dessert to make.
Let us eat cake! Mmm lemon angel food cake is on the menu today and I want to share this deliciousness with you. Let's have a piece, or three.
Lemon angel food cake is what happens after I've been spending WAY too much time making ice cream. For the past several weeks I've been on an ice cream making kick, which means I've had tons of leftover egg whites.
And what's a gal to do with a pile of leftover egg whites? Make lemon angel food cake, obvs!
The lemon/ lavender flavor combo came from my friend, Sally. She showed up at dinner with a handful of fresh herbs she'd picked from her garden. The same rooftop garden I covet every time I see a sunny pic of it on Facebook. (Not going to lie.)
The lavender was so beautiful it basically demanded I take pictures of it. Damn demanding lavender!
The cake is light and fluffy, the way angel food cake should be. It's covered in an easy to make meringue frosting that is light as clouds. Mmm, sugary clouds!
Remember back in the 80s and 90s when no fat diets were all the rage? I remember my mom shaming all fat, like one pat of butter would instantly translate to 5lb. on the hips.
Do you also remember how any food made without fat was considered healthy? Like how angel food cake was considered a ‘healthy' dessert because there's no fat in it. I love how everyone looked over the fact that there is a TON of sugar in angel food cake. But there's no fat … it's all ok! Ha ha!
I so badly wanted to put this recipe in the healthy desserts category, a throwback to the 80s way of thinking. š
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 plenty of time to use them in another recipe. Here are a few ideas:
What to do with leftover egg yolks?
- Make some Tangy Lemon Curd (you could serve this with the lemon angel food cake for big-time bonus points!)
- Add them to your morning omelet to make it extra tasty.
- Make some Caesar salad … like this Roasted Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad or this Bacon Kale Caesar Salad.
- Start your Sunday with some delicious eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce. This Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict is delish!
- Make some Homemade Mayonnaise.
- Make ice cream!
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More Delicious Cake Recipes:
- Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Whiskey Frosting
- Frosted Coconut Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Moist Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Dark Chocolate Beet Cake with All-Natural Pink Buttercream Frosting
- Olive Oil Cake
Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake
- 12 egg whites, at room temperature (Reserve egg yolks for another use. See blog post for ideas.)
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- Ā½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 Ā½ teaspoons dried lavender
- 1 teaspoon lemon oil
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 1 ā cup cake flour
Meringue Frosting
- 4 egg whites
- ā cup sugar
- Ā¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- A pinch of sea salt
- Ā½ teaspoon lemon oil
Instructions
For the Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the egg whites in a large bowl and add the cream of tartar and sea salt. Using an electric beater, beat the egg whites until they are frothy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, while continuing to beat the egg whites. Beat the egg whites until all the sugar has been added and they form stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. Add the lavender, lemon oil and lemon zest and beat just until they are combined.12 egg whites, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, Ā½ teaspoon sea salt, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 Ā½ teaspoons dried lavender, 1 teaspoon lemon oil, Zest from 1 lemon
- Hold a fine mesh sieve over the bowl of beaten egg whites and add ā cup of the cake flour. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour into the egg whites. Repeat with the remaining cake flour, ā cup at a time.1 ā cup cake flour
- Pour the cake batter into an ungreased 10-inch angel food cake pan and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan onto a wine bottle. Note: some angel food cake pans have feet to hold the cake upside down while it cools. If yours does, use them rather than a wine bottle. When the cake is completely cool, run a knife around the outside to loosen it, remove the bottom of the cake pan, and gently coax the cake out and onto a serving platter.
For the frosting:
- In a double-boiler, or using a heat-proof bowl over a pot of water, add the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Bring the water to a boil, making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the other pot or bowl. Using an electric beater, beat the frosting until the sugar has dissolved and the frosting is hot. Remove from the heat and continue to beat until the frosting has cooled and is thick, about 5 minutes. Quickly beat in the lemon oil and salt.4 egg whites, ā cup sugar, Ā¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, Ā½ teaspoon lemon oil, A pinch of sea salt
To assemble the Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake:
- Once the cake has cooled completely (at least 2 hours) spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake using a rubber spatula. You can sprinkle a little lemon zest and lavender flowers over the top, if you'd like.
Cartoned egg whites should NOT be used in meringues or angelfood cakes as the heating during pasteurization changes their physical properties and they will never beat up to the proper stiffness the same way fresh egg whites do. The outside of the cartoned eggs even has a small note on it to this effect! I discovered this recently after an unfortunate angelfood cake failure. Use the freshest eggs possible and the 3 bowl method to separate the egg whites from the yolks ( 1 bowl to place yolks, one bowl to place whites, and one bowl to use as you separate the two) to be sure no trace of yolk gets into the whites causing failure of the whites to whip up to a good stiffness! Great sounding recipe ā canāt wait to make it for this upcoming holiday weekend!!
Thank you for the advice!
Can I substitute lemin extract for the lemon oil?
I would think that would work. š
Why most the frosting be heated in order to make it?
Since the frosting contains egg whites, heating it makes it safe to eat and store. š
Hello,
I was wondering if reducing the sugar content will affect the outcome. Using 1 cup instead of 2.
Thanks!!
It will! Egg whites need a lot of sugar to stiffen when whipped. In this recipe, the sugar is for the egg whites, not just the sweetness. I know it seems like a lot but you don’t want to reduce the amount.
I have made this recipe and the entire family loves it. I did not have lemon oil so used a bit more lemon zest to compensate. It was delicious. I made it again today for my daughter’s birthday. Will be making ice cream with the egg yolks to go with the cake. Thanks for sharing the recipe. The cake is beautiful as well as delicious.
That makes me so happy to hear!!!
Hi there. This looks awesome but I was wondering if one could use the cartoned 100% egg whites found at the grocery store rather than cracking 16 eggs and then finding a use for all the yolks left over.
Thanks.
I have never tried the recipe using cartoned egg white so I can’t say for sure it will work. I did a quick Google search and it sounds like some people have had success whipping cartoned egg whites and some people have had them fail. If you’re up for experimenting, I’d say to give it a go. Make sure you let them come to room temperature first. š
I haven’t made *this* dessert with the cartoned whites,but I’ve made similar ones (including other angel food cakes) with them and it’s been fine. They may take a lot of whipping, though, and much better to use a stand mixer than a handheld.
That said, YMMV depending on brand, and make sure your bowl and whisk are scrupulously clean.
That’s so great to hear! Thank you for letting us know!
My question as well! Thanks for asking and the replies that follow. I’m going to try it this weekend but will leave off meringue frosting as my guests don’t care for it. Also, I have some Lemon oil from Sorrento that is just screaming to be used!
This looks amazing! Any recommendations for making this dessert at 9,000 feet elevation?
Thanks, Vicki!
I hate to say this, but I don’t. I live feet from the ocean so don’t have any experience with cooking at high altitudes. But … I found this article that might help: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
š
Can this be made the day before. Does it need to be refrigerated
The cake can definitely be made the day before. Do leave the frosting off until the day you plan on serving it as it gets sticky when it’s left for a few days. It’s not a terrible thing, but you probably wouldn’t want to serve it to guests that way. When you make the cake, let it cool completely then cover it with plastic wrap and leave it on your counter. š
Your recipe looks wonderful, but there is one troubling aspect – the lemon oil. The link for the lemon oil links to Amazon for Now Lemon Oil which is an essential oil. Essential oils should never be ingested unless under the direction of an aromatherapist. If you rrad further down on the page it even says that this oil should be diluted with a carrier oil. There is no oil in the recipe, therefore it cannot be properly disbursed. I will make this, but will use a food grade lemon flavoring.
I’m so happy you brought this to my attention. I investigated a little further on the company’s website, and it looks like you’re right. While they say their oils are processed in a manner that they could be edible, they have not been certified food grade so they don’t sell them to be eaten. I’ve updated the link to a lemon oil that is definitely good grade.
I’m wondering about subbing out the sugar in the frosting for honey. Is that something you have tried before?
I haven’t tried that, but I would probably work. I might be tempted to go the Italian route and make a syrup from the honey first. If you Google Italian meringue you should be able to find a recipe and swap the sugar for honey. Hope that helps!
This sounds so delicious, I’ll have to see if I can find a gluten free Angel food recipe? Either that or just tough it out, Lol.
I wish I could tell you that this would work with gluten-free flour, but I haven’t tested it out. I bet you could find a gluten-free recipe and then use these flavors as inspiration!
So, I noticed in the frosting directions it says to add lemon oil but I am not seeing lemon oil in the frosting ingredient list (it is in the cake list and I added it to the cake)? Made the cake and ready to frost but not sure how much lemon oil to add! š Looks and smells amazing. Thank you!
So it does! Thank you for catching that and letting me know. I put 1/2 teaspoon f lemon oil in the frosting, jsut for sme extra lemony flavor. š
Happy cake eating!
I really want to do this cake? always loved angel food cake but lemon version is even better. But is there anything I can substitute the cream of tarts with sth els like for example cornstarch or powder sugar????ā¤
If you don’t have cream of tartar you can leave it out. It helps the egg whites to rise but it will still work without it.
I hope you like the recipe … it really is delicious. š
Oh my gosh lavender is one of my favorite herbs to cook with. This cake is gorgeous!
Thank you so much! I love it, too. So pretty and delicious!
I LOVE lavender! I didn’t start cooking/baking with it until a few months ago and I’m obsessed!
Have you tried it on roast potatoes? Itās pretty amazing. ?
A lavender farm I went to once said to use it anywhere you would use rosemary. I love it!