EASY Country Sponge Cake

6 eggs; separated, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon rind; grated
1 cup sifted cake flour


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixer bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised; set aside. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks on high speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar, salt, lemon juice, and rind, and beat on high speed for 5 minutes longer. By hand, fold the cake flour quickly into the egg yolks, about 15 strokes. Add about one-third of the whites to the egg-yolk mixture and, with a large rubber spatula, fold until incorporated. Gently fold in the remaining whites in 2 batches. Little patches of white will until be showing. Transfer to an ungreased 10-inch tube pan and bake for just 40 minutes. The top will be golden brown. Remove cake to a rack to cool for 1 hour. Loosen the sides with a knife and separate the center of the pan from the sides. Then loosen the bottom of the cake from the pan with a knife and tip out onto a rack. Let the cake cool completely before serving or storing.