{Holding on to Summer} Angel Food Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

I was shocked this week to walk into the shops and find that in a matter of a week, all the New Year's and Christmas decorations have been replaced by hearts and cupid. We're not even half way through January! I feel like capitalism is wishing my life away. Valentine's Day means we're creeping toward the end of summer and I refuse to let go of summer and these beautiful summer sunsets just yet!

Don't worry, there'll be love and Valentine's Day inspiration on this page. Just not today. Not yet. So today I'm sharing with you a perfect summer cake. The cake is so light and fluffy it's like eating air! And even better there's no butter in it, so you can eat it and stick to those New Year's resolutions. You'll just need to replace the buttercream and lemon curd with some fresh berries.

I was so scared of making my own lemon curd after reading horror stories online about people ending up with lemon flavoured scrambled eggs, that I bought some from the shops as a back up. As it turned out, I didn't need it! I'll share with you the recipe I used. It's so easy and worked out perfectly.If you'd rather buy, I found lemon curd at Woolworths. I'm sure it'll work just as well.

I used David Lebovits' recipe for Angel food cake and the lemon curd recipe I'll share with you in a separate post, because it deserves it's own post!

Angel Food Cake with Lemon Curd Filling
Adapted slightly from David Lebovits

130g flour
300g sugar (divided into 100g and 200g)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 12 large eggs, must be at room temperature)
1tsp cream of tartar
2tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and butter and flour two 20cm cake tins.
2. Sift together the flour, 100g of sugar and salt in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they become foamy. Add in the cream of tartar and lemon juice.
4. Beat on a high speed until soft peaks form.
5. Gradually add in the 200g of sugar until your mixture is light and fluffy, resembling clouds. It really does! (You're NOT going for stiff peaks here)
6. Add in the vanilla and mix briefly.
7. Fold the flour mixture into the egg whites a bit at a time, making sure there aren't any pockets of flour at the bottom of the bowl.
8. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 35 minutes, until the cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
9. Turn the cakes onto a wire rack straight away and allow to cool completely.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

From Martha Stewart

5 large egg whites

212g sugar

pinch of salt

454g butter (at room temperature)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1. Place a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
2. Combine the egg white, sugar and salt in this bowl and whisk by hand until the mixture is warm to the touch and all the sugar has dissolved (you'll be able to feel this when you rub some mixture between your fingers).
3. Remove the bowl from the heat, but be careful as steam will escape when you do this. I always use oven gloves.
4. Beat the mixture with an electric mixer (handheld or stand) until stiff, glossy peaks form and the mixture has cooled completely (about 10 minutes).
5. Add in the butter, a few tablespoons at a time. Mix between each addition to ensure the butter is well combined.
6. Add in the vanilla.
7. Use a spatula to mix the buttercream for a bit to ensure that there aren't any large air bubbles.

To Assemble

Two 20cm Angel Food cakes

Lemon Curd

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. Place a small dollop of buttercream on a cake stand.
2. Place one of the cakes face down on the stand.
3. Spread a generous layer of lemon curd on top of this.
4. Place the second cake on this and frost with the buttercream.