Mimosa Cake with Lemon Butter Cream Frosting
Submitted by juliawalt
Mimosa cake is a marbled angel food cake with lemon butter cream frosting. White meringue batter and golden egg yolk batter are spooned alternately into a tube pan for a two-toned, cloud-light sponge.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
20 minCOOK
35 minREADY
1 hrsThis cake is part angel food, part sponge, and entirely beautiful. A meringue base made from 10 egg whites gets split in two: half stays pure white, and the other half gets folded with beaten egg yolks, lemon zest, and vanilla to turn golden. The two batters are spooned into a tube pan in alternating dollops, creating a marbled crumb that’s both visually striking and feather-light.
The technique is pure angel food: no butter, no oil, no leavening beyond the air whipped into those egg whites. Cream of tartar stabilizes the meringue, and sifted cake flour keeps the texture fine and tender.
Invert the pan over a bottle to cool. This is not optional. Gravity keeps the cake stretched and airy as it cools. If you set it right-side up, the weight of the cake collapses the delicate crumb.
Chef Tips
- Fold the flour into the meringue very gently, one-third at a time. Aggressive stirring deflates the whites and the cake turns dense.
- Make sure the bowl and beaters are spotless and free of any grease. Even a trace of fat prevents egg whites from reaching full volume.
- Use a thin metal spatula to loosen the cake from the pan edges and tube. Don’t twist or pull.
Variations
- Use orange zest instead of lemon in both the batter and the frosting for an orange mimosa version.
- Skip the frosting and dust with powdered sugar for a lighter, brunch-friendly presentation.
- Top the frosted cake with candied lemon slices for a bakery-worthy finish.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Sift flour and ½ cup of the sugar onto wax paper; set aside.
Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a large bowl with Beat in remaining 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until meringue forms soft peaks. Fold flour mixture into meringue, one-third at a time, until Beat egg yolks in a small bowl with electric mixer at high Beat in lemon rind and vanilla. Fold half of the meringue batter into the beaten egg yolks until no streaks of white remain. Spoon batters by tablespoonfuls, alternating colors, into an Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly pressed with fingertip. Invert pan, placing tube over quart-size soft-drink bottle; let cake cool. Loosen cake around the edge and the tube with a spatula. Cover pan with serving plate; turn upside down; shake gently; remove pan. Frost with lemon flavored butter cream frosting.
Comments
