Angel food cake

Method

• step 1

  Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Oil the base of a 20cm square cake tin and line with baking paper.

• step 2

  In a small bowl, sift together the flour and 55g of caster sugar. Beat the egg whites using an electric whisk until foamy, then add the cream of tartar, a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Turn the speed up to high and continue to whip the egg whites until they just begin to hold soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining sugar, a spoonful at a time. Be careful not to overwhip – the peaks should be soft and cloud-like. Using a spatula, gently fold the flour and sugar mixture into the egg white mixture, ensuring that everything is well incorporated.

• step 3

  Evenly spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack. Cool upside-down until the cake is at room temperature.

• step 4

  For the lemon curd, put the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl and stir until well combined. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water (ensuring the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water) and stir continuously with a wooden spoon. The mixture will begin to gradually warm and thicken. After 7-10 minutes, once the curd is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove from the heat. Immediately stir in the butter, cube by cube. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Cool completely, then cover and chill until needed. It can be kept in the fridge for up to a week.

• step 5

  Put half the mango flesh into a high-powered blender with the lime juice and whizz until completely smooth.

• step 6

  To assemble, split the cake in half through the middle and spread over the curd, followed by the whipped cream. Sandwich with the top of the cake and slice into 7cm x 5cm squares.

• step 7

  For each serving, drop a spoonful of the mango purée onto the plate and put a cake square on top. Spoon over a tablespoon of the whipped cream. Slice the remaining mango and arrange this over the whipped cream along with the strawberries. Finally, spoon over the passion fruit seeds.