It's going to be 3 or 4 hours from the time you start before you can eat the cake so plan accordingly.
| 100 g cake flour (approx. 3/4 cup) 150 g + 150 g sugar (approx. 2/3 c + 2/3 c) 480 g egg whites 1 tsp cream of tartar | 1/4 tsp salt 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1-1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp almond extract |
Equipment: Tube pan with removable bottom, large rubber spatula, whisk or electric mixer, sifter.
Note from #TheScratchiest: 480 grams of egg whites equates to the whites from a dozen large eggs. When I have recipes that use just yolks, I put the leftover egg whites in a container in the freezer. Since I never remember how many whites I've collected, I prefer to weigh them when needed. Weighing also makes it easier to have a mixture of whites from different sized eggs. Feel free to mix whites from chicken and duck eggs.
Preheat oven to 325F.
Sift all of the cake flour with 150 grams of the sugar and set aside. If you like, sift it more than once to get out any lumps and to thoroughly mix.
Combine lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract.
Using the tool of your choice (hand mixer, stand mixer or whisk), beat the egg whites until they start to froth. Add the cream of tartar and salt. Continue beating until the whites are billowing mounds and not yet soft peaks.
Continue beating the egg whites while gradually adding the 150 grams of sugar. When all of the sugar has been added and you have soft peaks, beat in the lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts.
Using your spatula, fold in the cake four/sugar mixture. You want to keep the mix as light as you can so add the flour and sugar in two or three batches.
Scrape the batter into the tube pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. The cake is done when the top springs back when pressed. Remove from oven and turn upside down to cool. Wait 2 to 3 hours before removing from pan.
