Orange Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake

VANILLA BEAN ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 325°. In a small bowl, mix flour and 3/4 cup sugar until blended., Add seeds from vanilla bean (or extract if using), cream of tartar and salt to egg whites. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until soft glossy peaks form. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time., Gently transfer batter to an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on lowest oven rack until top springs back when lightly touched, 45-55 minutes. Immediately invert pan; cool completely in pan, about 1-1/2 hours. , Run a knife around sides and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate., For glaze, in a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar, seeds from vanilla bean (or extract if using) and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Spread glaze over cake, allowing some to drip down sides.

TRIPLE ORANGE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Move a rack to the bottom position.
• Drain the mandarin oranges and reserve the liquid. Measure the reserved liquid and add enough water to equal 1 1/4 cups. Measure out 1 cup mandarin oranges, reserving the remaining oranges for garnish.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine angel food cake mix, mandarin water, orange extract and orange zest. With an electric mixer, beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat on medium for 1 minute. Pour into angel food tube pan. Carefully place 1 cup of orange segments around top of cake batter. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until top of cake is cracked, dark golden brown, and not sticky.
• Remove cake from oven and invert onto glass bottle to cool.
• Frost cake with whipped topping and garnish with reserved orange segments.
• Cook's Note: Excessive stirring will cause whipped topping to become watery.

ORANGE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and continue whipping until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, gradually add 1 cup of the sugar and continue whipping until stiff and the sugar has dissolved, about 30 seconds.
• Sift the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the pre-sifted cake flour 3 times, to aerate the mixture. Fold into the egg whites, then fold in the vanilla, and zest.
• Spoon the batter into ungreased mini tube pans. Bake until light golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool by turning the cake (in the pan) upside down until it cools to room temperature. Run a long, sharp knife blade around the cakes to loosen, then knock the cakes out onto a plate, or work them out with your fingers. The outside of the cake will remain in the pan leaving the cake whiter and more angelic looking.
• Make the glaze: Stir the ingredients together until smooth. Dip the tops of the cakes in the glaze. Let set for at least 30 minutes before serving, or until the icing is hard. Serve with sorbet.
• Serving suggestion: sorbet .

ORANGE DREAM ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Sift flour and 3/4 cup sugar together twice; set aside. , Add the cream of tartar, salt and almond and vanilla extracts to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time., Gently spoon half of batter into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. To the remaining batter, stir in the orange zest, orange extract and, if desired, food colorings. Gently spoon orange batter over white batter. Cut through both layers with a knife to swirl the orange and remove air pockets., Bake on the lowest oven rack at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned and entire top appears dry. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour., Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate.

COCOA ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH ORANGE GLAZE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. and have ready an ungreased 10-inch tube pan (about 4 inched deep) with a removable bottom.
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and 1/2 cup sugar. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat whites with salt on medium speed until white, opaque, and beginning to hold their shape. Gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, beating at high speed until whites hold soft (not stiff), slightly glossy peaks. Beat in vanilla.
• Sift one third cocoa mixture over whites and fold in gently but thoroughly, scraping bottom of bowl to prevent lumps. Sift and fold in remaining cocoa mixture, half at a time, in same manner and pour batter into pan. With a knife, make series of side by side chops in batter to remove air bubbles and smooth top. Bake cake in middle of oven 40 to 45 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Invert cake over neck of a bottle and cool completely.
• Run a thin knife around edge of cake and remove side of pan. Run knife under bottom of cake and around center tube to loosen cake and invert cake onto a rack.
• While orange glaze is still warm, quickly pour over cake, spreading evenly over top with a spatula and allowing excess to drip down outside. (Alternatively, spoon glaze into a plastic bag and squeeze into one corner. Snip off corner to make small hole in bag and streak glaze over cake from center outward.)
• While glaze is still wet (to avoid cracking), transfer cake to a platter. When glaze is set, cover cake loosely with plastic wrap or place under a cake dome and keep at room temperature until ready to serve.
• If cake is kept more than 1 day (before or after serving), it should be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.