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Homemade Angel Food Cake with Candied Orange Peel. A light, fluffy and delicious angel food cake topped with vanilla glaze and candied orange peel.
One of our absolute favorite treats our mom would make growing up was Angel Food Cake. It was always a special day when she would make it, because it wasn’t too often. However when she did, we were always so excited.
We wanted to keep this angel food cake recipe classic, but add a unique twist to the topping — aka the candied orange peel. It adds such a delicious, fresh flavor to the cake and we’re never not adding the candied orange on top. It takes it to another level!
This post is all about homemade angel food cake.
Homemade Angel Food Cake with Candied Orange Peel
Ingredient Snapshot:
Directions Snapshot:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift the flour and sugar into a bowl 3 or 4 times to make the ingredients as fine as possible before mixing.
- In an electric mixer, whisk egg whites, cream or tartar, salt and vanilla until frothy. Then add in 3/4 cup sugar and whisk on med-high until stiff peaks form.
- Gently sift and fold the flour-sugar mixture (a little at a time) into the egg white mixture until fully combined.
- Scoop mixture into angle food cake pan and run a knife through the batter to release any air bubbles.
- Bake for 40 minutes, cool for an hour upside down. Then. Release cake from cake pan. Top with vanilla glaze and candied orange peel.
How to Make Candied Orange Peel:
- Use a vegetable peeler to remove orange peel from the oranges.
- In a medium sauce pan, add orange peels, water, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove from heat and stir with vanilla. Let the peels sit in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove orange peels from the pan and place on a wire rack to rest and cool for 15 minutes. Then, toss them in sugar and let them dry completely (about 10 more minutes).
What does cream of tartar do in angel food cake?
Cream of tartar helps to speed up the formation of the air bubbles in the cake batter and stabilize the cake as it bakes.
What does cake flour do in angel food cake?
Cake flour has a lower protein content, which gives the angel food cake a more cake consistency — this also gives the cake it’s soft pillowy texture.
Why are there so many egg whites in angel food cake?
There are 10 egg whites in this angel food cake recipe, but it’s one of the major contributors to the consistency of the cake. It will create a light and fluffy texture.
Equipment You'll Need for This Recipe:
Stand Mixer
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Angel Food Cake Pan
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Homemade Angel Food Cake with Candied Orange Peel
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Description
A light, fluffy and delicious angel food cake topped with vanilla glaze and candied orange peel.
Ingredients
Angel Food Cake
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
10 egg whites
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Vanilla Glaze
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Candied Orange Peel
2 naval oranges
1 cup water
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Candied Orange Peel
- First, make the candied orange peel. Use a vegetable peeler to remove orange peel from the oranges.
- In a medium sauce pan, add orange peels, water, 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove from heat and stir with vanilla. Let the peels sit in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove orange peels from the pan and place on a wire rack to rest and cool for 15 minutes. Then, add 1/2 cup sugar to a bowl and toss the peel in sugar and let them dry completely (about 10 more minutes).
Angel Food Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add flour and 3/4 cup sugar to a bowl. Grab a sifter and another large bowl and sift the flour and sugar into the bowl. Sift about 3 or 4 times and set aside.
- In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, add egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and vanilla to the bowl. You will gradually increase the speed of the mixer. Start by whisking on low speed until frothy. Then increase to medium speed, gradually adding in the remaining 3/4 cup sugar a little at a time, until soft peaks form. Lastly increase speed to medium high until stiff peaks form and the egg whites are frothy.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift in 1/4 of your flour mixture. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cake, making sure not to over mix. This is what will keep the cake light and airy. Repeat this step until all of your flour mixture has been incorporated.
- Scoop the mixture into an angel food cake pan and smooth the top into an even layer. Run a knife through the cake a couple times to remove any air bubbles.
- Place in the preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes, until top is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and flip the pan upside down over on a cooling rack. Cool upside down for 1 hour. After it is cooled, run a knife along the edge of the pan to loosen and gently release the cake from the pan.
Vanilla Glaze
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze. If you want a thinner glaze, add more milk 1 tsp at a time until the consistency is how you like it. If you want a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar until the glaze is thick enough.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
