Red White and Blue (plus Yellow)

This is my 4th of July offering.  Red, white, and blue; I know...it is also yellow.  Someone once told me that every quilt should have some yellow in it.  Good advice for every quilter (and in this case cook) to follow.  I definitely think that this dessert needs the yellow.  Besides, it looks more cheerful.

It all started with these.  I had so many of them in my refrigerator.  I was saving my blue farm fresh eggs because they are so pretty.  But Cindi brings me some each week so why not enjoy Fresh Eggs?
I had some regular store-bought white eggs in the fridge as well, because I was saving my blue ones to look at..I know, stupid.  A few days ago, our good friends took off to Italy for a few weeks.  Well, Rachel was offered their wonderful fridge-full of perishables that they couldn't bear to throw away.  I don't blame them.  We made out like bandits.  Our fridge is now full of brie, Gruyere, organic produce of every kind, including bags of lemons.........and eggs.

I have been wanting to try Ina Garten's lemon Angel Food Cake recipe, so why not?  I certainly have enough eggs.

• Separate those eggs carefully.  You can't have any yolks in with the whites or they won't whip properly. 
• Make your own cake flour (add 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch to each cup of all-purpose flour and measure the flour amount from this mixture), because that was not one of the things you were gifted by your globe-trotting friends.  And of course, you never have any in the pantry when you need it. 
•  Zest those lemons (yellow zest only, no pith or the cake will be bitter). 
• Mix all your ingredients. 

• Spread evenly in your angel food cake pan.
• Bake until golden brown (10 more minutes than the recipe called for in my case).

• Cool upside down and carefully remove the ring.  I was fighting people off in my kitchen  who were grappling to scrape the crumbs from the side of the tube pan.  Of course, I wasn't involved in the melee in any way whatsoever.

• Can I have an Oooh and an Aaah...please?  This cake is so wonderful and easy to make that you'll never want to eat a fluffy, flavorless store-bought cake again.  It's a bit heavier than the airy store bought ones but it has so much more flavor.  The tang of the lemon zest is so subtle and surprising.

• Serve with red raspberries (or strawberries if you have those in your fridge), blueberries, and luscious homemade lemon curd.  Top with whipped cream. 

Come visit tomorrow and see what to do with all those lemons (and now egg yolks) STILL in the fridge.

Lemon Angel Food Cake

                                                                                                Ina Garten
2 cups sifted superfine sugar, divided
1 1/3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups egg whites, at room temperature (10 to 12 eggs)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine 1/2 cup of sugar with the flour and sift together 4 times. Set aside.

Place the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the eggs make medium-firm peaks, about 1 minute. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Whisk for a few minutes until thick and shiny. Whisk in the vanilla and lemon zest and continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 more minute. Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula. Continue adding the flour by fourths by sifting and folding until it's all incorporated.

Pour the batter into an un-greased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes, until it springs back to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack until cool.