For a super light and lovely looking Easter cake recipe, give this wonderful lemon chiffon cake a go and your guests will be more than impressed. It makes a lovely Spring dessert recipe, whether you're entertaining or just have the family round for a cup of tea.
Ingredients
- 7 eggs, separated
- 1tsp salt
- 90ml vegetable oil
- zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 2tsp vanilla extract
- 325g plain flour, sifted
- 300g caster sugar
- 3tsp baking powder
- ½tsp cream of tartar
- For the icing:
- 225g icing sugar
- juice of 1-2 lemons
- edible violas, to decorate
- You will need:
- a 25cm, loose-based deep cake tin, oiled and the base and sides lined with baking parchment
Method
Heat the oven to 150C, gas 2. With an electric hand whisk, beat together the egg yolks, 55ml water, salt, oil, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add the flour, sugar and baking powder. You will have a smooth batter.
Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff and glossy. Gently fold the whites into the batter in 3 stages, using a metal spoon so as not to beat out the air. Gently pour your batter into the tin and once filled, used a sharp knife to gently cut through the batter to prevent any large air bubbles forming inside. Bake on the lowest rack of the oven for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Invert the cake immediately onto a baking tray on a wire rack and leave to cool completely before removing from the tin.
To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice gradually until it’s smooth and glossy. You want it to be quite thick. Put the cake onto a cake stand or plate. Spoon the icing into the centre of the cake, spread it out with a spoon and allow it to run down the sides. Decorate with the violas.
