Light and lovely! Amy Colvin of Pueblo won first place at the Colorado State Fair with this cake. Topped with a fresh blueberry sauce and whipped cream, or lightly sugared, sliced strawberries, this cake is hard to resist.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have on hand an ungreased 10" round angel food cake pan.
Sift into a large mixing bowl the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add (in order) the oil, water, egg yolks, vanilla, grated lemon peel, extract, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Mix until smooth; scrape the bowl and mix for 30 seconds more.
In a separate bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, use clean beaters or the whisk attachment to combine the egg whites and cream of tartar or 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice. Whip until very stiff.
Fold one quarter of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it up, then gradually (in four additions) pour the yolk mixture back over the remaining whites, folding gently just until blended each time. Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake the cake for 55 minutes, then increase the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes (or an additional 5 to 10 minutes if using a tube pan), until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven, and cool it upside down, inverted over the neck of a bottle.
When completely cool, run a thin-bladed metal spatula between the cake and the pan, and turn the cake out onto a serving plate. Garnish as desired.
