Pistachio and Lime Crusted Angel Food Cake Recipe
Pistachio and Lime Crusted Angel Food Cake
Quite maybe the best angel food cake around
For such a long time I was looking for ways to use up extra egg whites that I seem to always have in abundance. Once I found this base cake recipe from Stella Parks - my search ended. This is my go-to. I love topping her cake with crunchy pistachios and letting it soak up the tangy lime syrup. It is truly a delight. Airey, bright, crunchy… for sure to be a show-stopper.
Ingredients
Cake
5 ounces bleached cake flour (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) (see Stella’s note below)
15 ounces cold egg whites (2 cups) from 12 large eggs
15 ounces granulated sugar (2 cups)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Topping
1 cup sugar
8 tablespoons fresh lime juice | divided
1 cup unsalted raw pistachios
1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
The Cake
I use this recipe for the cake. Stella Parks hit it out of the ballpark with this golden time-tested recipe. I have never had this cake fail on me - which I cannot say for any other method.
Effortless Angel Food Cake Recipe
By Stella Parks
The Pistachio and Lime Topping
Step One
To make the lime syrup: Combine the sugar and 6 tablespoons of lime juice in a small saucepan stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Step Two
Brush the lime syrup all over the top and sides of the cake and then immediately press the crushed pistachios onto the exterior of the cake.
Step Three
To make the lime glaze drizzle: Beat together the powdered sugar and the remaining 2 tablespoons of lime juice until smooth. Drizzle the glaze back and forth over the top of the cake to create your beautiful design. Let the cake stand until the glaze sets about 10 minutes. Serve. Enjoy.
Stella’s Note about Flour:
“The success of this recipe depends on traditional bleached cake flour (not self-rising). Look for brands such as Swans Down, Softasilk, or Purasnow—unbleached and DIY alternatives will not perform in this recipe. If your tube pan does not have stilts for inverted resting, and cannot rest over the neck of a wine bottle, before you begin to bake, set up a trio of cans of the same height to suspend the tube pan on. The cans should be arranged so that the inverted pan just rests on their edges (the cake will rise above the top of the pan).”