Vintage gold cake is a delicious egg yolk cake that is made not with butter, but egg yolks! It is a light and simple to make cake and a great way to use yolks left from meringues or angel food cakes giving it the namesake gold color.
Have you ever needed to use a ton egg whites for a nice angel food cake, forgotten torte or pavlova recipe and wondered what the heck you were going to do with all of those yolks? I mean there is only so much lemon curd one person can make and eat. It is delicious, but…
Though I suppose there is always custard too. Hmm, now this egg yolk situation isn’t sounding so bad. Forget I said anything about that.
Remember when I was telling you how terrible it is to be left with a ton of egg yolks after baking something that uses a lot of whites?
That is the exact reason this vintage gold cake was born. It is a nice rich pound cake style cake but without the pound of butter. Instead it uses those egg yolks!
I just love recipes like this. The kind that are born out of the necessity of using all of what you have and not wanting to waste precious food.
Especially since this recipe was created to use the rest of the eggs used to make an angel food cake.
I can just imagine some grandma baking a fluffy angel food cake with her farm fresh eggs then looking at those egg yolks and thinking,
I bet I can do something with those! That grandma had probably collected those eggs herself and was not going to let a bit go to waste.
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Luckily, I have an almost never ending supply of farm fresh eggs but I was still not going to let a bit go to waste! Actually the process from there is not all that different from making the angel food cake.
Whipping the yolks and sugar doesn’t result in a white cloud like the whites, but you will be amazed at the texture change as you go. It gets thick and the color definitely changes too.
Between the air whipped in at this stage and the baking powder, the result is still a really springy cake.
The timing couldn’t have been better either since I am working on desserts for my brother’s wedding. (I think I finally have the cake and frosting recipes picked! Hooray!)
With all of the trial runs on homemade white cake and Italian meringue buttercream, I have been using a ton of egg whites. This gold cake is a fun change of pace and a great way to use the yolks.
Back to the cake! Most gold cakes are flavored with lemon, probably because the golden color reminds folks of lemon. Vanilla would be good as well.
But I could not wait to use some of the orange flavoring I had just acquired, so I went with orange! Of course I mixed orange and vanilla in the glaze as well for that creamsicle flavor we love so much!
I wouldn’t change a thing! The orange flavor was perfect for this cake and the glaze took it to the next level. I served it up with some cream cheese whipped cream and fresh raspberries for a stunning dessert.
How can you store the egg whites if I am using the yolks in this cake?
Egg whites can be store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. No special preparation is needed to freeze the whites.
Use Your Favorite Flavors
Use any flavors of extracts you like. We used orange in this cake, but lemon, vanilla and almond would be great too. Using a mix of those flavorings makes a nice bakery style flavor as well.
Vintage Gold Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 12 egg yolks
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons orange extract or emulsion
- 1 cup cold milk
Optional Glaze
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons milk or cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange extract or emulsion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a large Bundt pan
- Start beating the 12 egg yolks until they begin to thicken.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together the 3 cups all purpose flour, 2½ teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Once the egg yolks are thick and aerated, start adding the 2 cups granulated sugar a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons orange extract or emulsion.
- Stir in the flour mixture until just combined and then the 1 cup cold milk until the batter is uniform.
- Spread in prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean.
- Cool for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar or mix together 1½ cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk or cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon orange extract or emulsion and drizzle over cake.
- Serve with cream cheese whipped cream and berries if desired.
Notes
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Hi Carlee,
I made this cake today and it turned out delicious! The only change I made was adding some orange zest and a small squeeze of the juice from the orange—just enough for flavor without affecting the batter’s texture. I finished it with a drizzle of vanilla icing, and the crumb was absolutely perfect. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe—it’s definitely a keeper!
I am so glad you liked it!
Can I use this as a base recipe for a lemon poppy seed cake? I have a bunch of hens giving me more eggs than I know what to do with so angel and gold cakes will help me out with my surplus.
That’s a good idea! You’ll have to let me know what you think if you try it.
I made this cake and my family loved it. but I was wondering if I could make this cake chocolate?
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why you couldn’t replace some of the flour with cocoa powder.
I loved the cake! I did change it a bit. Instead of 1 cup milk, I put in 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup sour cream. It came out great!!!
I am so glad you liked it! Sour cream is always so good in cakes. I’ll have to try it your way next time!