When I was in high school I remember using my Mom's beat up cookbook to cook everything. It was one of those plastic ring bound ones with no pictures...just page after page of contributed recipes. We made everything in that book at least once, I think. We used it so much it was falling apart. Pages had fallen off and were inserted in random spots in the middle so they wouldn't get lost. I miss that book sometimes.
One of my favorite recipes to make was an Orange Chiffon cake. It never had any glaze on it that I remember, but I think I did put powdered sugar on it. I loved that cake! A few weeks ago I bought a giant bag of organic oranges for $4 and I've been trying to think up ways to use them. Then I remembered that I hadn't dug out my tube pan for quite some time and I decided to see if I could find an Orange Chiffon recipe. Besides, what's more fun than putting an upside down cake on a bottle to cool?
This recipe makes one unbelievably tall, light cake and a lovely orange glaze if you're so inclined...plus lots of dirty dishes, but heck, that's half the fun of cooking, isn't it?
Orange Chiffon Cake with Orange Glaze
2 cups flour
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
7 egg yolks
7 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
-Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
-In another bowl put the oil, orange juice, orange zest, water, vanilla and egg yolks.
-Pour this into the flour mixture.
-Beat using and electric mixer until smooth and no sugar granules remain, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
-In a large bowl (not plastic!) beat the room temperature egg whites until foamy, then add in cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
-Using a spatula gently fold the egg whites into the flour mixture until completely incorporated.
-Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan (angel food cake pan).
-Bake for about 1 and 1/4 hours or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
(I use a piece of dry spaghetti to check mine.)
-Once out of the oven invert the pan and allow the cake to cool completely. This works best if you set the center tube over a long necked glass bottle to hold it up in the air, like a vinegar bottle or the like. I used my olive oil bottle.
-When cake is cool, run a knife around the sides and the tube of the pan and lift the insert out. Then cut the cake away from the top of the pan and invert onto a serving plate.
-Drizzle the cooled caked with glaze if desired.
Orange Glaze
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
Pinch of salt
Grated zest from 1 orange
Juice from one orange
3 cups powdered sugar
1-2 drops orange food coloring (optional)
milk as needed
-Put all the ingredients except the milk in a bowl and whisk together. Add milk if necessary to reach desired consistency. The food coloring is optional, as the glaze on it's own is a lovely shade of pale yellow.
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Tips from the Kitchen McMitchell
Why is it important to bring your egg whites to room temperature?
Egg whites at room temperature will give greater volume, which is especially important when you're making an angel food or chiffon cake. Your cake will be much higher and fluffier if you use room temperature egg whites. This can be acheived by putting your whole cold eggs in some warm (not hot!) water for 5 minutes, although this makes them harder to seperate because your yolks won't be as firm as they are when they're cold.
Alternately, you can seperate your eggs when they're cold and let your egg whites sit for about 20 minutes to come to room temperature.
Why can't I use a plastic bowl to beat my egg whites?
If you use any kind of dish that could have an oily residue left on it, your egg whites will never be able to form peaks. You can beat them all day and nothing will ever happen other than foam. This is also why it's important not to get any yolk in your whites. If you use a clean metal or glass bowl to beat your egg whites you shouldn't have any problems.
