Lemon Iced Angel Cake

Having purchased a Bundt silicon mould for a knock down price in one of my bargain hunts. I just had to invent a recipe for its debut didn’t I? I wanted to achieve a lemon creation, which has a light summery taste and I think I’ve cracked it here with this recipe. I call this an Angel cake because it is very light and I make my apologies now if this isn’t a conventional one however, this is my own version.

The texture is very light and airy with a mellow hint of lemon to the sponge and the enhancement being the lemon icing. I used coloured yellow paste in the icing for a more visual effect and this is purely optional. You can either decorate with little candied lemon slices or leave them out the choice is yours. I’ve even thought of adding a few drops of pure lemon oil to the sponge base or better still a dash or two of limoncello liqueur for an adult version! The middle of the cake could even be filled with a fruit and served for dessert the options are endless.

Lemon Iced Angel Cake

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients
110g (4 oz) self-raising flour
60g (2 oz) cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
110g (4 oz) soft butter
2 eggs, beaten
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons milk
For The Lemon Icing
110g (4 oz) icing sugar, sieved
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Edible yellow food colouring (optional)
A few candied lemon slices to decorate (optional)

Method

You will need a bundt pan 25.5cm (10 in) width and holds 1.2 litre (2 pints) fluid volume and grease or use quick release spray.

Preheat oven 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

In a bowl sieve the flour, cornflour and baking powder together and leave to one side for later use.

In another bowl add the butter and sugar and lemon zest and then beat together until light and fluffy. Add a little at a time of the beaten egg until all fully incorporated.

Fold in the sieved flour, cornflour and baking powder gently with a large metal spoon. Lastly add the lemon juice and milk and fold in gently.

Place the mixture into a bundt pan and smooth around the top before placing into the preheated oven on a middle shelf. Cook for 30 –35 minutes or until cooked. You can also check to see if cooked by inserting a skewer into the sponge and if it comes out clean the cake is ready. Leave in pan to cool until just warm on a wire rack before turning out onto a serving plate.

To make the Icing; Sieve the icing sugar in a bowl add the lemon juice and beat until smooth. Add a few drops of yellow food colouring if using and beat again until icing is fully coloured. Drizzle the icing around the top of the warm cake and decorate with candied lemon slices if using.

Note: You could use Cake flour instead of Self-raising flour and cornflour in this recipe. In England I’ve not come across an outlet selling Cake flour yet. Also the cake can be left to cool completely before adding the icing. I added the icing while still warm for it to sink into the sponge a little.