Orange Angel Food Cake

Wanting something light, airy, and  of course delicious to eat after your brunch Easter Sunday? Make Orange Angel Food Cake the centerpiece of your beautiful Easter table setting.


When I think of springtime, especially around Easter, I think of bright beautiful flowers, fresh fruit, and light desserts. Not only is it Easter this Sunday, but it is my love Adam's Mom's Birthday.  So I was brainstorming on what kind of dessert she might like after an Easter day brunch, and thought " What better dessert than an Orange Angel Food Cake." It's  light, airy, and perfect for a beautiful Easter day and a beautiful woman, I think she would enjoy very much.

Here's the recipe:
1 1/2 c. of cake flour (sifted)
1 dozen (12 egg whites) (room temperature)
1 1/2 tsp. of cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 1/2 c. of granulated sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
2 tsp. of orange zest

Orange Glaze:
1 c. of confectioners sugar
1/2 c. of fresh orange juice
2 tsp. of orange zest

Prep time: 20 min  Bake time: 20-25 min  Cool time: 30 min  Set time: 30 min
Total time: 1 hr. 45 min
Skill: Intermediate 

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees

First, I cracked a dozen (12 eggs), just getting the egg whites.*Let the egg whites sit for 30 min so they can come to room temp. *How you can perfectly separate the egg whites from the yolks is that you can use a mesh strainer. Used the hand mixer and whisked the egg whites on low speed until the eggs foamed. Then I put 1 1/2 tsp. of cream of tartar and 1/2 tsp. of salt and beat the mixture on medium high speed until it came to a stiff peak.

Next, I took 1 cup of granulated sugar and slowly poured it in the mixture while continuously mixing until the sugar dissolved, then set it aside. 

Then I grabbed another mixing bowl, sifter, and poured in 1 1/2 cup. of cake flour and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, sifting it 3-4 times. *The reason why you sift the flour and sugar mixture multiple times is because you want it to aerate as much as possible. This will give the cake a light and airy texture. You don't want your cake to be dense. *If you don't have cake flour, you can use 1 1/8 cup of all purpose flour and 2 tbsp. of cornstarch. That's it, simple.

Then I slowly poured the flour mixture in with the egg whites, folding it in with a rubber spatula until it's all well incorporated. Poured in 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and 2 tsp. of orange zest and folded it in.

Poured it in an ungreased fluted pan and placed it in the oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 min.
*If you have a bundt or angel food pan, that will also work. 

While my cake was in the oven, I grabbed a small mixing bowl, poured 1 cup of confectioners sugar, 1/2 cup of fresh orange juice (juice of 1 orange), and 2 tsp. of orange zest, stirred the ingredients together until well combined.

Now back to the cake. After 20 min, take a tooth pick and check to see if it comes out clear. *Ovens vary, some may take 20 min, others may take 25 min. Mine only took 22 min, so check after 20 min.

After coming out of the oven, flip the pan upside down on a cooling rack and let it cool for 30 min.

After cooling for 30 min, turn the cake pan back up, take a knife to loosen up the edges of the cake. Turn it upside down onto a serving plate or a cake platter.

Take a brush or spoon and drizzle the orange glaze on top of the cake until it's well coated. Let the glaze set on the cake for at least 30 min before cutting and serving. 

While letting the glaze set, I decided to make my cake look pretty for not only Adam's Mom, but for a beautiful Easter centerpiece. I wanted it to look like a flower,  so I took some orange slices, cut them in halves and placed them around the cake. Placed a whole orange slice in the middle of the cake. If you like, you can also make your cake look like a flower. If you don't want to garnish your cake with oranges, you can garnish it with other fruits like cherries or fresh mint. Either way, it will be a beautiful centerpiece for any table setting.

Now take a bite and Enjoy!
Happy Easter!