Lemon Angel Food Cake with Preserved Lemon Curd
by Cindi Sutter, Founder of The Spirited Table® - Recipe by Melissa Clark
Adding preserved lemon juice to lemon curd is the brilliant brainchild of Samantha Kincaid, the pastry chef of the restaurant High Street on Hudson. It adds a complex brininess to what can be an overly sweet citrus custard. In this recipe, the curd is lightened with a little whipped cream and used to frost and fill a lemon-flavored angel food cake. It’s a stunning dessert that’s bright, rich and light all at once.
Featured in: Eggs Give Dessert A Spring In Its Step.
Ingredients
For the cake:
1 cup/110 grams cake flour
1 ⅓ cups/265 grams granulated sugar
12 large egg whites
Pinch kosher salt
1 ½ tsp cream of tartar
½ cup/62 grams confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp lemon extract
For the preserved lemon curd:
½ cup/118 milliliters lemon juice
1 ½ tsp powdered gelatin
6 large eggs
1 ¼ cups/250 grams granulated sugar
½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
¼ cup/60 milliliters preserved lemon juice (strained off from a batch of salt preserved lemons, either store-bought or homemade)
Finely grated zest of two lemons
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 cup/236 milliliters heavy cream
Instructions
- Make the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center.
- Sift flour and 1/3 cup/65 grams granulated sugar into a large bowl.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, salt and cream of tartar and beat with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Gradually add in remaining 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until firm, glossy peaks form. Beat in confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, vanilla and lemon extract.
- Sift a quarter of the flour mixture over egg whites and use a rubber spatula to fold until barely combined. Repeat with remaining flour in 3 more additions.
- Scrape into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth top, and bake until cake is springy and pulls away from the pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Make the curd: In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup/59 milliliters lemon juice and gelatin; set aside to bloom. In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs.
- In a medium bowl, combine granulated sugar, butter, remaining 1/4 cup/59 milliliters fresh lemon juice, the preserved lemon juice, the zest and the salt. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water until warm. Remove from the heat, then pour over the eggs in a thin stream, constantly whisking. Place bowl with the egg and lemon mixture over the simmering water pot and cook, stirring constantly, to 175 degrees, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in gelatin mixture and immediately pour through a fine strainer into a wide bowl set over ice bath, stirring until mixture is cool. Chill for 1 hour.
- Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold into the lemon curd and chill for another hour, until cold.
- To serve, unmold the cake. Using a serrated knife, halve the cake crosswise to create 2 layers. Dollop on some of the lemon cream to cover. Top with the cake and dollop on more lemon cream. (Remaining lemon cream will last up to a week in the refrigerator.)