Coconut Angel Food Cake
3/4 cup Cake flour
8 large Egg whites
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cream of tartar
1 cup Superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Almond extract
1/2 cup Coconut, unsweetened, shredded
FROSTING:
1 1/4 cups Sugar
2 large Egg whites
1 teaspoon Orange zest grated
1/4 cup Orange juice strained
1 tablespoon Corn syrup
1 cup Coconut, shredded and toasted (unsweetened )
Onto a sheet of wax paper, sift the flour 3 times. In a large bowl with an
electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt until they are frothy. Add the
cream of tartar and beat to soft peaks. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, a little at a
time. Add the vanilla and almond extract, and beat the whites to stiff peaks.
Fold in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, a little at a time.
Sift the flour over the whites in 4 batches, folding it in gently after each
sifting. Fold in the coconut. Spoon batter into a 9-inch tube pan, 3 1/2-inches
deep. Bake in the middle of a preheated 275�F oven for 1 1/2 hours. Hang the
cake in the pan, upside down, on the neck of a bottle and let it cool for 90-120
minutes or until cooled completely. Release the cake with a sharp knife, turn it
out on a rack and invert it onto a cake plate.
In a metal bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg whites, zest, juice, corn syrup,
and a pinch of salt. Set the bowl over simmering water, and cook, whisking,
until it registers 140�F on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat and whisk
the mixture over the hot water for 3 minutes. Remove the bowl from the water
and, with an electric mixer, beat the frosting at high speed for 7-10 minutes or
until it is cool and holds stiff peaks. Spread top and sides of the cake with
the frosting and coat the outside with the toasted coconut. |