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.
Citrus Angel Food
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.
To make the 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.
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
- 10 medium-sized ripe peaches
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
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.
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? 🙂
Hi Manju,
Great question, I use the yolks to make ice cream, lemon curd, bread pudding and just about any custard.
Enjoy, Zoë
This sounds soooo good! LOVE this cake!
This looks gorgeous! I just bucked up and bought an angel food cake pan, will definitely try this!
i’m gonna try it. it looks beautiful/taste was fantastic.
I have had the great pleasure of eating this cake in the very kitchen in which it was made… yum!
I’m with your son on the sweets. Give me angel food any time! It’s my favorite…ahhh…but all the yolks. I don’t much like eggs and I don’t like all the yolk-y things. Have you ever used the packaged egg whites from Whole Foods?
The problem with packaged egg whites is that they usually have the addition of stabilizers that help to strengthen the whites for long term storage. When they are whipped, you have to be especially careful because they can over whip very quickly. They can go from liquid to scrambled in a matter of a few seconds. If you are going to use them, whipping them on medium will slow down how quickly they will whip. It also builds a stronger, more stable foam.
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!
Those peaches look glorious!
Yum! This looks great! The peaches are perfect for this!
I love how you add lime and lemon to angel food cake!
Beautiful photos!
Delicious cake. 😉
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?
Hi Jodi,
Yes, it goes with the flour mix, thank you for catching that!
Enjoy, Zoë
Also when does the orange extract go in ?
Hi Elizabeth,
I added the extract to the instructions. Thanks for letting me know!
Cheers, Zoë
What is the actual weight of the egg whites? I really enjoy your website. Thank you.
Beautiful! It looks so tall! What is the diameter of the form?
I’d eat that! 🙂
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.
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
Okay, I’ll try again and let you know how it turns out