ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Ingredients

Angel Food Cake:

• 1¼ cups sifted cake-and-pastry flour
• 1¼ cups granulated sugar
• 1½ cups egg whites (10 to 12)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla

Lemon Curd:

• 4 egg yolks
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• ⅓ cup cold butter, cubed

Mascarpone Cream:

• 115 g mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup whipping cream (35%)
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla

Garnish:

• 1 cup quartered hulled strawberries

Directions:

1. Sift flour with ½ cup of the sugar; sift into clean bowl.
2. In large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy; beat in lemon juice, cream of tartar, and salt until soft peaks form.
3. Beat in remaining sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, until stiff glossy peaks form.
4. One-quarter at a time, sift flour mixture over top and fold in until blended. Fold in vanilla.
5. Scrape into ungreased 10-inch (4 L) tube pan. Run spatula through batter to eliminate any large air bubbles; smooth top.
6. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until cake springs back when lightly touched, 40 to 45 minutes.
7. Turn pan upside down and let hang on legs attached to pan, or on bottle, until completely cooled. Remove from pan. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container for up to 2 days.)
8. While cake is baking, in heatproof bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Set over saucepan of simmering water; cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat back of spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.
9. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, 1 piece at a time, until smooth. Strain through fine-mesh sieve into bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface. Refrigerate until thick enough to mound firmly on spoon, about 2 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.)
10. While lemon curd is chilling, place mascarpone in bowl. In separate bowl, whip together cream, icing sugar, and vanilla; fold into mascarpone. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)
11. Cut cake in half horizontally. Evenly spread lemon curd over cut side of bottom half; top with remaining cake, cut side down. Spread mascarpone cream over top.
12. Arrange strawberries decoratively over mascarpone cream.

Nutritional Information, per serving: about 310 cal, 7 g pro, 14 g total fat (6 g sat. fat), 41 g carb, 1 g fibre, 94 mg chol, 192 mg sodium, 143 mg potassium. % RDI: 2% calcium, 8% iron, 10% vit A, 20% vit C, 12% folate.

Tip from the Test Kitchen: Lemon zest curls make a pretty garnish for this cake. Use a citrus zester with a channel cutter to cut the zest into long, slim curls.