Daffodil Cake..... Warm & Sunny & springlike

((Repost from March 2014~ In honor of it being "Jonquil Season" Once again :)
Have I mentioned before how much I love hearing from our followers? As a matter of fact I did HERE, but I’ll say it again 😊

Their Snippets and Snatches and memories and comments are always so interesting, Like the other night I was asked by a faithful follower if I’d ever heard of ‘Daffodil cake’.

Well, No as a matter of fact I hadn’t, and I wondered how I’d managed to miss something as intriguing sounding as that all these years. In all my many antique cookbooks (many of which will soon be listed on ETSY!) I had never seen a recipe for Daffodil Cake, I’m sure I would have remembered that!

 So I Googled it, as I wondered to myself “when did that become an excepted verb in our language?” ---and sure enough there it was no doubt someone's  great-grandmothers recipe, a lady who lived on a farm with ‘yard-birds’ aplenty and come spring had eggs a plenty too, and of course being a good farm wife she wasn’t about to toss egg yolks in order to make a light and airy Angel Food cake. Maybe she didn’t know about  LEMON CURD --the way I’ve always frugally used up my egg yolks---actually Lemon Curd being one of my favorites, I’ve always made it first and the Angel Food cake was  a ‘by product’ to use up the egg whites---but I interrupt myself-- in actuality she probably didn’t have access to the ingredients , I think ‘back in the day’ Fresh Lemons in the Ozark hills were probably pretty hard to come by !

So with spring laying already going strong and 39 eggs in the fridge

I decided to try a Daffodil cake of my own! I read a few recipes, thought about how I’ve made my chiffon and angel food cakes in the past and came up with this recipe.

It passed the taste testers approval---my grandkids--one who claims Angel Food cake is ’’the best cake EVER” and the other who HATES eggs---both ate it and were happy, now that is some recipe! 😊 

In all my research I couldn’t find an exact time this recipe dates to, but read in several places where ladies remembered their Great-Grandmothers fixing this cake. As so many other things of the past it’s exact story has probably been lost to time, but I’m  pretty sure I can say with confidence that the way this recipe came about , as my mother would say , was because " Necessity is the mother of invention".

 

Daffodil Cake

 

6 eggs--separated  * see notes*

1/2 tsp. cream of tarter

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. Almond flavoring

1/2 cup all purpose flour

 

2 T. Lemon Juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. Lemon extract

1 tsp. baking powder

                                                                        1/2 cup all purpose flour

 

Pre-heat oven to 350*

Carefully separate eggs, making sure no specks of yolk get into your whites.

Place egg whites in a large bowl or stand mixer. Put yolks in another bowl and set aside for now.

Beat egg whites at medium speed till foamy, add cream of tarter and beat at high speed till soft peaks form, sprinkle sugar over whites and continue to beat at high speed till stiff glossy peaks form, turn mixer off.

 

Add lemon juice to yolks and beat till light and thick, about 2 minutes, add sugar, lemon extract, baking powder and 1/2 cup flour, beat until completely smooth.

Now gently sift flour over egg whites, add flavoring and with a spatula FOLD in the flour just till it is all incorporated. NEVER stir or beat, as it will deflate them!

Spoon two thirds of the egg whites into an Ungreased tube pan, spread gently to cover bottom of pan, gently pour yolk mixture over top, then add remaining egg whites, gently spread, then using a dry knife, swirl the top to batters together.

Bake  for 35 minutes or till top is lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean.

To keep cake from ‘sinking’ while cooling, immediately invert pan and cool completely.

When cool, run a knife around pan to loosen and remove to a serving plate. Dust with powdered sugar, serve with fresh fruit or with  sweetened whipped cream.

****NOTES: Eggs will beat better if brought to room temp. before separating.

 

I don’t typically sift flour when asked to in recipes, but Angel food cake is the exception I think at least once is a necessity and twice is probably better.

 

Make sure no fatty residue comes in contact with the whites or they will not be light and airy.

 

Other flavoring can be used instead of the almond and lemon if desired

 

One recipe I read suggested a drop or two of yellow food coloring in the yolk mixture, if you’re using farm eggs you know you won’t need it !

 

One ‘down side’ to this cake is it ONLY takes 6 eggs rather than the 12 of a typical Angel Food cake, so if you really need to use up a dozen eggs, make one for a friend too , and brighten their day with a Daffodil Cake !

Find this recipe and MANY more in our Everything Season Cookbook