Lemon Poppy Seed Angel Food Cake

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
2. Add egg whites, 1 tbsp of the lemon juice and the warm water to the bowl of an electric stand mixer (a hand mixer works as well) and beat on medium-high speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla and keep beating until soft peaks form.
3. Once you have soft peaks, add 3/4c. of the maple sugar a little bit at a time while still beating. Beat until whites hold stiff peaks and are glossy, not dry.
4. Stir together the arrowroot starch with the remaining sugar and gently fold it into the egg whites, trying to not defeat them too much, but folding until combined. Then fold in the poppy seeds, lemon zest and remaining lemon juice.
5. Pour the batter into a clean tube pan. line the bottom with parchment paper if yours does not have a removable bottom. This will help a lot to get the cake out of the pan without sticking.
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until cake is puffed and the surface is lightly browned and cracked.
7. Remove from oven and turn the pan upside down to cool. You can put the hole in the middle of your tube pan over a bottle, or your tube pan might have feet.
8. Carefully remove the cake from the pan, using a long knife to separate the cake from the sides of the pan if necessary. To serve, cut the cake carefully with a serrated knife, cleaning the knife as needed when it starts sticking.