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Angel Cake with Strawberry Orange Coulis

Prep Time:  30 Minutes

     Cook Time:  25-30 Minutes

     Serves:  12

The spring calendar is filled with special reasons to party, but really, who needs a holiday? The first strawberries of the season are reason enough to celebrate. Here’s a cake that does them justice.

Ingredients

  • Cake
  • 1 cup cake flour, sifted
  • 1 ½ cups sugar, divided
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. grated orange zest
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 13 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • Coulis
  • 1 quart fresh strawberries
  • 3 tbsp. honey
  • 2 tbsp. orange juice
  • 1 tbsp. grated orange zest
  • To serve: Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and thoroughly dry a 10-inch tube cake pan. Sift cake flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, orange zest and salt 6 to 8 times, using two bowls, going back and forth between them and holding the sifter high over the bowl to incorporate air.
  2. Using electric beaters, beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until foamy, working the beaters up and down and around to incorporate as much air as possible. Beat in cream of tartar, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon water. Continue beating while you sprinkle in the remaining 1 cup sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time. Beat in vanilla. Continue beating until stiff peaks form when the surface of the egg whites is touched.
  3. Sift flour mixture over whipped egg whites a little at a time and use a large rubber spatula to gently fold each addition into the egg whites. Do not overmix. Gently turn the batter into tube pan. Place in center of hot oven.
  4. Bake until cake springs back when you press your finger lightly near the center, 45 to 50 minutes. Invert the cake pan and set it to rest on the rims of three identical coffee cups so that the cake cools upside down with airflow beneath. Cool cake completely. To remove it from the pan, use a fork to very gently pull the cake away from sides of tube pan.
  5. For the coulis, puree the strawberries with honey, orange juice and zest. (Or, for a more textured sauce, slice the berries and mix gently with other ingredients.) Let stand at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. To slice cake, use a gentle sawing motion with a large serrated knife. Serve with coulis and lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Notes

Suggestions The muted brightness of Kickapoo Coffee's Organic Peru Huabal or Organic Ecuador, both single-origin coffees from South America, will complement the citrus flavors in the coulis and balance the sweetness with a chocolaty finish.