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Citrus Angel Food Cake with Peaches

Angel Food Cake with Peaches | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

I have a child who doesn’t have a sweet tooth. He’s clearly missing one of my genes. He can walk past cookies, cakes, pastries, ice cream, even chocolate, especially chocolate. I don’t pretend to understand, but I try, and just hope he’ll grow out of it.

The only type of desserts he will eat, without guilting him into it, are the fruity ones. He even baked a gorgeous rhubarb pie. So, when we celebrated his birthday, I made a traditional marble cake, with lots of sweet frosting for the rest of us, and this light angel food cake with fresh peaches for him. He had seconds, then thirds of the angel food and left the the sticky, gooey birthday cake untouched. The rest of us took care of it for him.

Although we are finally experiencing spring, we are far from peach season in Minnesota. They must be growing well in California, because my local co-op had a bin full of the most beautiful, fragrant and juicy peaches. I may just be desperate for a sign of summer, but I think this may be the best crop I’ve had in years. I cooked them with just a touch of honey and a vanilla bean. The angel food has a healthy dose of citrus zest, which is a great balance to the sweet peaches, especially for people without the sugar gene.

Bowl of Fresh Peaches | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Citrus Angel Food

Inspired by a cake in Gesine Bullock-Prado’s Bake It Like You Mean It. Find the full recipe at the bottom of this post!

Whipping egg whites | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

In a food processor, pulverize the sugars and cornstarch until very fine. In a large bowl, add half the sugar mixture (reserve the other half for later) with the cake flour. Sift the sugar/flour mixture 3 times, set aside.

In a stand mixer, whip the egg whites, lemon juice, zest, cream of tartar and extract with the whisk attachment, on high speed, until the whites are frothy. Slowly add the reserved sugar-cornstarch mixture to the whites and continue to whip until medium peaks.

Sifting flour | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Sift 1/4 of the sugar/flour mixture over the whipped whites. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold them together. Repeat with another 1/4 of the sugar/flour and gently fold them together. Continue in this way until all the sugar/flour is incorporated.

Angel food cake batter | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Spoon the batter into an ungreased Angel Food Pan.

Removing air bubbles from angel food cake batter | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Run a knife or spatula through the batter to get any large air bubbles out.

Baked angel food cake | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Bake for about 35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Inverted angel food cake | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Immediately invert the pan onto a wine bottle to prevent the cake from compressing.

Inverted angel food cake  | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

To make the peaches:

Bowl of fresh peaches | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

To blanch and peel the peaches: Bring 8 quarts of water to a boil. Cut an X on the bottom of each peach and place them in the boiling water. Allow them to sit in the boiling water for up to 1 minute.

Blanching peaches | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Place the peaches in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Use your fingers or a paring knife to remove the skin.

Cooking peaches with vanilla and honey | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Pit and slice the peaches. Place them in a pot with the honey and vanilla bean. Cook until the fruit is soft and the juices start to thicken to the consistency of maple syrup.

Peaches to be served with angel food cake | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Remove and place in a bowl. They can be served hot, room temperature or cold.

Angel food cake | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Remove the cake and place it on a serving plate.

Angel food cake with peaches | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Use an angel food comb to cut the cake and serve with the peaches.

Citrus Angel Food Cake with Peaches

Citrus Angel Food Cake with Peaches

This angel food cake has a healthy dose of citrus zest, which is a great balance to the sweet peaches, especially for people without the sugar gene. The peaches are cooked with just a touch of honey and a vanilla bean.
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (50g) confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 cup cake flour sifted
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 12 egg whites at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tsp lemon and/or orange zest
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp orange extract (not oil)

Peaches

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • In a food processor, pulverize the sugars and cornstarch until very fine. In a large bowl, add half the sugar mixture (reserve the other half for later) with the cake flour. Sift the sugar/flour mixture 3 times, set aside.
  • In a stand mixer, whip the egg whites, lemon juice, zest, cream of tartar and extract with the whisk attachment, on high speed, until the whites are frothy. Slowly add the reserved sugar-cornstarch mixture to the whites and continue to whip until medium peaks.
  • Sift 1/4 of the sugar/flour mixture over the whipped whites. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold them together. Repeat with another 1/4 of the sugar/flour and gently fold them together. Continue in this way until all the sugar/flour is incorporated.
  • Spoon the batter into an ungreased Angel Food Pan. Run a knife or spatula through the batter to get any large air bubbles out. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Immediately invert the pan onto a wine bottle to prevent the cake from compressing.

Peaches

  • To blanch and peel the peaches: Bring 8 quarts of water to a boil. Cut an X on the bottom of each peach and place them in the boiling water. Allow them to sit in the boiling water for up to 1 minute.
  • Place the peaches in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Use your fingers or a paring knife to remove the skin.
  • Pit and slice the peaches. Place them in a pot with the honey and vanilla bean. Cook until the fruit is soft and the juices start to thicken to the consistency of maple syrup.
  • Remove and place in a bowl. They can be served hot, room temperature or cold. Remove the cake and place it on a serving plate. Use an angel food comb to cut the cake and serve with the peaches.
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23 thoughts to “Citrus Angel Food Cake with Peaches”

  1. The flavors are gorgeous and I have non-sweet fans in my family too, but they would eat anything with fruit. I want to try making Angel Food cake someday, but my only question is what would I do with the remaining egg yolks? 🙂

    1. Hi Manju,

      Great question, I use the yolks to make ice cream, lemon curd, bread pudding and just about any custard.

      Enjoy, Zoë

  2. I will never understand people who don’t like desserts. Although that’s not to say they have to be sickeningly sweet to be enjoyable. In fact I think I prefer things a little less sweet…so this cake would be right up my alley!

  3. Great recipe! I noticed there is salt in the cake recipe but I never see where it is incorporated in. does it go with the flour mixture?

  4. II followed your instructions and all I got was pale yellow soup. The whites never whipped up with 1/3 cup liquid in them. I let the mixer run on high for at least 10 minutes…and nothing more than soup.

    1. Hi Vickie,

      If there is any yolk in the whites at all they will not whip up properly, so you need to make sure the whites are free of yolks or any fat. Are you beating the egg whites in a plastic bowl by chance? If so, try it in a metal bowl and see if you get better results.

      Thanks, Zoë

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