It’s officially spring, which means it’s time for the return of our good pal, sunshine! And we’re celebrating the start of a new season with a cake that is appropriately named “Sunshine Cake”! We figured we’d share the love by sharing the recipe, so follow along to make your very own Sunshine Cake.
To start out, gather your ingredients. You’ll need the following for the cake:
- 1 ½ cups sifted cake flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, almond extract, or both
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup cold water
- 6 eggs, separated and at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus a pinch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Now, let’s get to the fun part—the baking!
Preheat your oven to 325 °F. Separate the eggs carefully, putting the whites in a large mixing bowl and the yolks in another large mixing bowl. Beat the egg yolks until they are light and foamy. Slowly add water. Gradually beat in the sugar, then the extract, and beat the mixture until it’s pale and thick in texture (total beating time can be as long as 7 minutes). Sift the flour again with the salt and baking powder. Return it to the sifter; fold it into egg yolk mixture, sifting in a little at a time.
Beat the egg whites gently until they’re foamy. Add a pinch of salt and the cream of tartar. Increase the mixer speed, and beat them until they form moist, glossy peaks.
Pour the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream over the entire surface of the egg white mixture, gently cutting and folding it with a rubber spatula, making sure everything is completely folded. Pour into an ungreased 10-inch round tube pan with a removable bottom. Draw a thin spatula gently through the batter to destroy any large air pockets.
Bake it at 325°F on the second rung from bottom of the oven for 60 minutes. Don’t worry if you see it fall a small amount at 50 minutes—this is normal.
After it is baked, invert the pan to let it cool for 1 ½ hours. Frost the cake when it’s cool.
Now, make the frosting!
You’ll need the following ingredients:
- 2 sticks butter
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- Orange juice, as needed
- Zest, for garnish
Mix the butter with the powdered sugar. Carefully add enough orange juice to thin it out for spreading. After frosting the cake, garnish it with orange zest or peel, if desired.
How pretty is this cake, y’all? We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Happy Spring!
