Citrus infused light and sugary angel food cake. 

For full recipe see below!

My AP classes are wrapping up and to procrastinate the ugly task of actually studying, I’m baking like crazy! I’ve made and written like 5 recipes this week! I’m heading off to college in the fall, so I’m hoarding some of the posts so that I can still post through the fall…I’m predicting that I will have limited time and access to a functional kitchen. My birthday’s coming up in a couple of weeks, and my mom asked me what I want ….within about 3 seconds I had an answer….a slightly unrealistic one….a kitchen-aid mixer! Some 18th birthday present, right? To quote my dad, “how many teenagers ask for a stand mixer for their 18th birthday?” One… and she lives in your home! I think I can factually say that I would be the only one on campus with their own stand mixer in their dorm room! I’m a spoiled baker; what can I say? Unfortunately, I think that the price tag is slightly too large for a birthday present! Can’t say I didn’t try though right? 

Anyways…

Angel food cake is a great springy recipe and would be great for Mother’s day. It’s super airy and light and is great served with fresh fruit. I made a citrus infused version today. The tartness of the limes was well balanced with the sugary sweetness of the cake. It’s like biting into a cloud, it’s so light! It is absolutely “heavenly” ….sorry about the angel pun, but I couldn’t resist! To give it some more fresh pop, I drizzled a key lime glaze over the top. This is the closest you will get to a healthy dessert, I’m afraid…but when you eat the whole cake in one sitting I think it becomes a little bit of a stretch!

For all the movie fanatics out there….

“Oh, thank you….what is it?”

“It’s a bundt.”

“A bunk?”.

“No a buuunnnddt.”

“Bunnnttttt?”

“Bundttttt.”

“Oh it’s a cake!”(turns to leave) (mutters) “There is a hole in this cake.”

Name that movie!!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding! Whenever I make anything in a bundt pan, I automatically think of that movie. The only thing I hate about angel food cake is that it uses a lot of egg whites, and then you have to find something to do with the egg yolks. But believe me, it’s so worth it! You will need 1 1/2 cups of egg whites which is anywhere from 10-12 eggs based on how large the eggs are. You can also buy egg whites in a carton, but Stop and Shop chose the day I was going to bake angel food cake to be out of them! Your eggs also need to be room temperature…I’m never patient enough for this, so you can make room temperature eggs by sitting the eggs in a bowl of warm tap water (picture 1). Grease, egg yolks, and any other fat pose a threat to the fluffiness of your cake, so make sure your bowl is completely clean and be super careful to not get any egg yolk in the whites when separating the eggs. The exception to the “no fat rule” is that you want to grease your bundt pan because this cake will definitely stick if you do not.

So preheat your oven to 350°F and grease your pan.

Using a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, key lime zest and juice on high speed until you have stiff peaks (picture 2). Gradually beat in the sugar on low speed. If the batter deflates turn it back up to high speed until the peaks are stiff again (picture 3). With a rubber spatula, fold in the cake flour being careful not to deflate the egg whites (picture 5). I don’t keep cake flour on hand…but you can make cake flour by measuring out 1 cup of all-purpose flour, removing 2 Tablespoons, and then replacing those 2 Tablespoons with 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch. I would run it through a sifter to lighten it up and mix up the cornstarch and flour (picture 4). Pour the batter into the bundt pan (picture 6).

Bake the cake for 34-38 minutes, or until when you press the cake with your finger it springs back (picture 1). Let it cool completely before unmolding it.

To make the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, the key lime juice, and zest until smooth (picture 4). Poke the cake with a fork to make some holes. Then drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake (picture 5). The glaze will ooze into the fork holes and give it an extra pop of key lime flavor. That’s why the top looks a little moist in the pictures…it’s not undercooked!

My puppy dog, Lambeau, was helping me out with the cake…it was nap time!

…and voilà! 

Please don’t hesitate to ask questions or comment in the comment section… I would love to get feedback and to answer any questions!

Lovin’ the key limey-ness? Check out my recipe for Key Lime Cupcakes!