Angel Food With Lemon Sauce

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH LEMON SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling water, add 2 teaspoons of salt. Add in angel hair pasta and cook until "al dente," about 3 minutes or less. Reserve 1/4 cup of salted water, and set aside. Drain
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saute' pan. Add olive oil, zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Heat gently for 1 minute. Toss with pasta (and if you need more liquid, add in the reserved 1/4 cup of salted water).
• Add fresh basil and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and toss until angel hair pasta is evenly coated. If you need to add some extra virgin olive oil, please do so. Drizzle some in to keep the pasta extra moist.
• Serve in warm bowls and garnish with some fresh basil, lemon zest, and fresh cracked pepper on top. Serve with extra grated Parmigiano cheese at the table.
• Serves 4 to 6

EASIEST LEMON DESSERT SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring lemon rind, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir constantly.
• Reduce heat to simmer and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until sauce is thick.
• Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon orange juice.
• Serve warm.
• Refrigerate up to 1 week.

LEMONY ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack in lower third of oven. Sift flour and 1/2 cup sugar into a bowl.
• Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add lemon zest and juice, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt; continue whisking until soft peaks form, about 2 1/2 minutes. With mixer running, gradually add remaining cup sugar.
• Increase speed to medium-high; continue whisking until firm, not stiff, peaks form, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle whites with 1/3 of the flour-sugar mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine. Sprinkle remaining flour-sugar mixture over whites in 2 additions; gently fold to combine.
• Transfer batter to a 10-inch angel food cake pan with legs. Gently run a knife through the center of the batter to remove any air bubbles. Bake until a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven, and invert onto its cooling legs (if your tube pan doesn't have legs, invert it over the neck of a wine, or similarly shaped, bottle to cool); let cool, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Run a knife around the inner and outer edges of cake to remove. Invert onto a serving platter. (Use a knife to separate cake from bottom of pan.) Let cool on a wire rack. Unfrosted cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• Make the lemon cream: Prepare an ice-water bath. Whisk lemon juice, sugar, flour, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; whisk constantly for 1 minute, until it thickens. Transfer to a heatproof bowl set in ice-water bath to cool completely, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk cream and lemon zest with a mixer on medium speed until medium peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold whipped cream into juice mixture in thirds. Refrigerate lemon cream, up to overnight.
• Make the candied lemon-peel flowers: Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, using a vegetable peeler, peel 3 lemons to create 6 long strips (at least 5 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide). Remove pith from strips using a paring knife. Cut tops and bottoms off remaining 3 lemons; cut each in half lengthwise. Remove flesh. Cut out 6 flowers from the peels using a 2-inch flower-shaped cookie cutter and remove pith; cut indentations into petals for definition. Punch a hole in the center of each flower using a 1/4-inch plain round piping tip.
• Add lemon-peel strips and flowers to the syrup. Gently simmer until translucent and tender, about 35 minutes. Remove peels from syrup using a slotted spoon, and transfer to a wire rack set over a parchment. Let dry slightly, about 30 minutes.
• Trim strips to 5-inch lengths, and roll each to form centers of flowers; fit into flower holes and let stand on wire rack until slightly dry but still sticky, about 30 minutes.
• Frost cake with lemon cream. Garnish with candied flowers. Serve.

QUICKER LEMON ANGEL FOOD SUPREME

Steps:

• Prepare cake batter according to package directions, adding lemon zest and extract. Bake according to package directions. After baking, immediately invert pan and cool completely. For the sauce, combine the pie filling, milk, lemon juice and extract in a bowl; beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Serve with cake. Store sauce in the refrigerator.

LEMON ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Sift the sifted cake flour with 1/2 cup of the sugar 3 times (this is to aerate the mixture and make it light). Set aside. Whip the egg whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and continue whipping until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, gradually add the remaining cup of sugar and continue whipping until stiff and the sugar is dissolved, about 30 seconds more. Gradually add the sifted flour-sugar mixture and fold into the whites. Lastly fold in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Pipe the batter into ungreased mini muffin tins. Bake until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans, then run a knife along the edges to loosen them. Remove from the pans and place upside-down on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Stir the lemon juice and powdered sugar together until smooth, creating a glaze. Pour over each cake until the tops are smoothly coated.
• Confit: Cut a slice off the top and bottom of each lemon to expose the flesh. Cutting from top to bottom and following the contours of the fruit, cut off the peel and white pith in 1-inch-wide strips. Scrape off any pulp adhering to the strips, but leave the pith intact. You now have several 1-inch wide strips of lemon peel and pith. Cut each one into long strips, about 1/4-inch by 3 inches each. Meanwhile, boil a kettleful of water. Pour about a quart of the boiling water into a saucepan, bring to a boil, add all the lemon rind, and boil 30 seconds. Drain in a strainer and rinse under cold running water. Repeat 2 times more, using fresh boiling water each time.
• Combine the 1 cup of sugar and 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the blanched rind and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Drain in a strainer and let cool 15 minutes until cool enough to handle. Using your fingers, arrange the strips on a wire rack so that they do not touch each other. Let cool. Chop the lemon confit and sprinkle over the tops. Let set 30 minutes before serving.

LEMON-VANILLA ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH RASPBERRY-BLUEBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• For the raspberry sauce, mix 1 cup of the raspberries, the preserves, water, and the sugar in a medium-size heavy saucepan (not uncoated aluminum.) Bring to a boil over moderately high heat, mashing the raspberries with a wooden spoon. Boil 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Strain the raspberry mixture through a fine strainer suspended over a bowl, pressing down on raspberries to release the juices. Discard the seeds. Stir the blueberries and the remaining 1 cup raspberries into the hot raspberry syrup. Cover and let stand until cool. Refrigerate until ready to use. Yield: 2 cups
• For the cake, check that one rack is in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Pour the egg whites into the bowl in which you will be making the batter. If the pan has a removable bottom, do nothing to it. If it does not, lightly butter the bottom. Line the bottom with waxed paper or parchment paper cut to fit, and lightly butter the paper. Thoroughly mix the flour and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar or 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl. Have all the ingredients and tools at hand. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until frothy and well broken up. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium-high. Beat until the whites lose their yellow cast, greatly increase in volume, and start to turn white. With the mixer running, slowly sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup sugar over the whites. Beat until the whites become very thick, very glossy, and white, and the beaters leave a deep trail. Depending on the mixer, this need take only about 3 minutes total. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla, just enough to mix. Reduce the speed to the lowest possible. Quickly sprinkle the flour sugar-mixture over the whites. As soon as it is all added, but not completely mixed in, stop the machine and remove the bowl. With a rubber spatula or a large metal spoon, complete mixing in the flour by folding or gently stirring. Stop just as soon as the flour seems blended in. With a rubber spatula, scrape the batter (9 cups) into the pan and spread evenly. Inscribe a circle deep in the batter to release any large air bubbles. Bake until no moist patches remain in the surface cracks, the cake springs back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes for a 10 by 3-inch pan, 1 hour for a tube pan. Turn the pan upside down on a wire rack. Let cool completely. Loosen the edges (and tube) with a knife. Turn out the cake, loosen and remove the pan bottom, or peel off the paper. Store airtight 1 day at room temperature before serving or freezing. When serving, top cake with sauce and confectioners' sugar, if you wish.

LEMON-GLAZED LEMON ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Beat egg whites until frothy; add salt, cream of tartar and lemon oil and vanilla extract. Continue beating until they form stiff but not dry peaks. Using a rubber spatula, gradually fold in the sugar a few tablespoons at a time.
• Using the same rubber spatula, gradually fold in the flour, one quarter at a time. Be sure that you use a true folding motion, gently turning the spatula from the bottom of the bowl to the top, folding in air with each stroke as opposed to beating or stirring. You just went to all that work the whip up the egg whites, don't want to beat them to death.
• Pour batter into an ungreased, 9-inch angel food cake pan (you know the one with the tube in the center, not a bundt pan).
• Bake one hour or until top is golden brown and the cake pulls away from pan sides.
• Remove cake from oven . Cool in the pan ten minutes and then invert pan and let cake stand upside down for an hour or until cooled.
• You might let the cake stand over a plate in case your oven was funky and the cake plops out of the pan prematurely. Hey, it happens.
• While cake is cooling prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Let stand ten minutes before glazing the cake as it thickens a little. Serve immediately.

ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH LEMON HONEY YOGURT SAUCE

Steps:

• For the cake: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar. Using an electric hand mixer, beat on medium speed until frothy.
• Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 to 4 minutes.
• Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks, about 2 minutes longer.
• Sprinkle the flour over the egg white mixture.
• Using a spatula, carefully fold in the flour until incorporated.
• Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch nonstick angel food cake pan.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and a skewer inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall of the pan comes out clean.
• Invert the pan on a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• For the sauce: In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt, honey, and lemon juice until smooth.
• Using a spatula, loosen the cake around the sides and middle. Release the cake and place on a serving plate.
• Cut into slices and drizzle with the sauce.