CITRUS-SCENTED ANGEL FOOD CAKE
When you’re faced with lots and lots of egg whites (think a dozen), there’s no better way to put them to good use than in an angel food cake, which is pretty much just some egg whites whipped with some sugar and a bit of flour folded in. The batter stays billowy, like a cloud, and the cake is lighter than air, with a delicate, moist crumb and a faint hint of citrus. We think ripe berries or juicy stone fruits are perfect complements to this citrus-scented cake.
MAKES 1 (9-INCH) CAKE
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
9-inch tube pan, stand mixer
1 cup (130 grams) cake flour (not self-rising)
1½ cups (300 grams) sugar
¼ teaspoon (1 gram) kosher salt
1½ cups egg whites (from about 12 large eggs), at room temperature
1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
Fresh berries or sliced stone fruit, for serving
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F; position a rack in the middle. Have ready a 9-inch tube pan (not nonstick) with a removable bottom.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, ½ cup (100 grams) of the sugar, and the salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium-low speed. When they become foamy, raise the mixer speed to medium and add the cream of tartar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and orange zest.
4. Raise the mixer speed to high and continue to whip the egg whites until they just begin to form soft, droopy peaks and barely hold their shape. Add the remaining 1 cup (200 grams) sugar, ¼ cup at a time, streaming each ¼ cup into the bowl. Take care to not overwhip the mixture; you don’t want dry, stiff egg whites, but fluffy ones. When almost done, mix in the vanilla and almond extracts.
5. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour-sugar mixture into the whites, one-quarter of the mixture at a time.
6. Gently spoon the batter into the tube pan, smooth the top, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top of the cake grows golden brown and springs back nicely when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Remove from the oven and immediately invert the tube pan over a wire rack to unmold. Cut the cake into pieces and top with berries or sliced fruit before serving.
