Egg Yolk Cake: Sunshine Cake

Extra egg yolks to use up? Try this recipe for egg yolk cake, aka sunshine cake!

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The Story

After I went to school for Sustainable Food Production I had a series of on farm internships. One of these was at a small diversified dairy farm. They had a small herd of dairy cow, pigs out on pasture, and a large flock of laying hens.

This particular family were consummate hosts, always inviting people out to learn about farming or just stop by for a visit. Linda would always make something delicious for company or heck even just for us. She always used ingredients from the farm in her cooking. One popular combination was to make an angel food cake and what she called a Sunshine Cake right along with it.

Angel food cake uses just the egg whites, where a sunshine cake uses just egg yolks. The two are a perfect yin/yang of cakes. The sunshine cake has a spongey texture, rich flavor, and a beautiful yellow crumb.

Ingredients for Egg Yolk Cake

The main ingredient in this cake is egg yolks. Whether you eat egg whites for breakfasts and save up the yolks, or you have leftover yolks from making an angel food cake, this is a great recipe to have.

• 12 egg yolks
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 cups sifted cake flour (all purpose is fine too, you’ll just have a denser cake)
• 2 tsp lemon extract (see substitutions below)
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Substitutes for Lemon Extract

If you don’t have lemon extract on hand you can substitute 2 Tbsp of lemon juice per tsp of lemon extract. For this recipe you’d then need 1/4 cup lemon juice to replace the extract. Reduce the amount of boiling water by 3 Tablespoons.

You can also substitute 3 teaspoons of lemon zest.

Supplies for Sunshine Cake

This cake doesn’t require anything fancy except a bundt pan. If you don’t have one you can split the batter in half and bake it in two bread pans.

• Hand Mixer
• Bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Bundt pan or two bread pans

How to make Sunshine Cake

Begin by starting a kettle of water to boil. You’ll need one cup for this recipe. Boil more than a cup though or you’ll end up with too little when the steam escapes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they are light and fluffy.

Switch the mixer to low, then add in sugar, boiling water, and lemon extract.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Mix this into the cake batter.

Coat the inside of the bundt pan with butter, then lightly coat with flour or sugar. This will keep the cake from sticking.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for one hour.

Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan for about ten minutes.

Place a cooling rack on top of the pan and flip it over. The cake should easily slide out. You can eat the cake as is or add a glaze or toppings.

See below for topping ideas!

Toppings for Egg Yolk Cake

Fruit and Whipped Cream

Easy and classic, I probably like this option best. Use whatever fruit is fresh and seasonal. Whip cream with a few teaspoons of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla to make a cream topping.

Blueberries, strawberries, or a rhubarb sauce would all be excellent toppings.

If you baked the cake in bread pans it also slices well and can be topped with butter. This is best when the cake is still warm.

Lemon Glaze

Melt three tablespoons of butter in a microwave safe bowl. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1/8 cup of lemon juice. This will make a thick glaze you can spread on the cake even while it is hot.

For a thinner glaze, add lemon juice until you reach the desired consistency. If you go with a thinner glaze, make sure the cake is completely cooled before adding it to the cake or it will all run off.

When glazing it works best to place the cake on a wire rack on a plate or cookie sheet so the glaze doesn’t pool at the bottom.

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