Angel Food Cake with Pink Grapefruit Cream Cheese Icing


I passed a display of pink grapefruit at the grocery store the other day, and even though it wasn't on my list - I have to follow my list or else I buy everything in the store - I picked a few up and put them inconspicuously in the grocery cart.  I tried to convince myself that my inner grocery Nazi wouldn't have noticed.  I love pink grapefruit - The summery mix of pink and yellow, and the citrusy aroma that makes the back of your tongue start to water.  Sprinkled with a little sugar this is one of my favorite citrus flavors. 

While trying to decide what I wanted to do with them, I thought the flavor would go well with an angel food cake.  So I made angel food cake, cut them into squares and spooned a Pink Grapefruit Cream Cheese Icing over them.  Then I garnished them with sugared gumdrop petals.  I could have added the pink grapefruit juice to the cake batter, but I knew my husband wouldn't eat it that way, so I kept my grapefruit obsession to the icing.  He could eat his cake plain.  I didn't stop with adding pink grapefruit juice to the icing, I stirred in the zest and a few spoonfuls of the grapefruit pulp also.  It was perfection!

Angel Food Cake

2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups egg whites (about 18 large eggs)
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Pink Grapefruit Cream Cheese Icing
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup butter, softened
juice of one whole pink grapefruit
10 oz powdered sugar
zest of one whole pink grapefruit
2 Tbsp pink grapefruit pulp/flesh

For the Cake:
Preheat the oven toe 375F.  Line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil, leaving 3 inches to extend over the sides of the pan.  Do not grease the pan or foil, this will prevent the cake from being able to climb the pan and rise.

In a medium bowl: Sift the flour, sugar and salt together.  In an electric stand mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold the sugar mixture into the egg whites, 1/3 cup at a time, folding just until blended.  Fold in the vanilla, and spoon the batter into the pan.  The pan will be very full, this is OK.

Place the pan on an oven rack placed in the bottom third of the oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Turn the cake upside down onto a lightly greased wire rack, allow to cool for 1 hour or until completely cool, with the pan over the cake.  Once cake has cooled, remove the pan and peel the foil off the cake.   

For the Icing:
Beat the cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy.  Add the grapefruit juice, beating just until blended.  Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating at low speed until mixed.  Gently stir in the pink grapefruit zest and the pulp.  If not using the icing now, you can cover and keep in the refrigerator.  I like to serve the icing cold, it tastes more refreshing this way. 

Cut the cake into squares and spoon the icing over the top of the cake, allowing icing to drizzle down the sides.  Serve as is, or garnish with Gumdrop Rose Petals.  Enjoy!



Gumdrop Rose Petals:
Gumdrops in desired colors
small bowl of sugar
dampened paper towel

Take a gum drop, kneading and pressing it with your fingers until it looks like a flower petal.  Dredge lightly in sugar and let dry on a wire rack for at least a couple of hours, but best results are after 24 hours.  When working with the gumdrop, use a dampened paper towel to moisten your fingers, this will help prevent the candy from sticking to your fingers.  You can combine different colors of gumdrops, to make new colors; like red and white for pink petals.  Another technique is to press a small amount of one color, to the side of a larger ball of a different color.  This creates the look of a petal with different color strokes.


I will do a Gumdrop Petal tutorial in a later post, with step-by-step photos to help explain the process better.


(Recipe inspired by Lemon Angel Food Cake, Classic Southern Desserts)


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your gumdrop rose petals.... what a cute idea!

Magda @ Be Nutritious said...

Great idea, I would never come up with an idea to make grapefruit icing, that's very original.
I also have to stick to the list and even so I buy plenty of other things and think what to do with them :)

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

This is totally unique and mouthwatering. I've made cream cheese icing with lemon and orange before but grapefruit never crossed my mind and I LOVE grapefruit. Your gumdrop flowers are too cute as well, can't wait for the tutorial!

Kim (Liv Life) said...

Absolutely beautiful!! Angel Food Cake is a favorite around our house, and we are always happy to have a new topping to try. With grapefruit being high on my husband's list, this should be a hit for him. My daughter will love making those petals!

Gree said...

I love those gumdrop rose petals, they are so whimsical!

Doggy Dessert Chef said...

Those gum drop flower petals are beautiful, I can’t wait for the tutorial.

Kath said...

Your cake is gorgeous! I have never been able to bake an angel food cake from scratch. I've only tried it twice, but each time it was a complete disaster. Maybe I'll try your recipe next time!

Charisse said...

Absolutely beautiful! They look so girlie! Love them!

A SPICY PERSPECTIVE said...

Oh, the icing sounds amazing! Love those cute little petals!

Lawyer Loves Lunch said...

Those gum drop petals are absolutely adorable! I can't wait to see a tutorial :)

pTsaldari said...

Enchanting recipes... have posted it to my fb page. Love your site. First time visit. Want to subscribe but can't find where I can subscribe directly to my email. Shall return for another visit. Kudos!
Cheers,
Penelope
http://ptsaldari@posterous.com

pTsaldari said...

Dear Sprinkle if you can redirect my subscription directly to my email account... would appreciate it very much!
Cheers,
ptsaldari@gmail.com
Much obliged!

Anonymous said...

Angel food is cake is one of my all time favorite desserts, but I've surprisingly never had it with icing. I think Cool Whip is the closest I've gotten! Your pink grapefruit recipe might just be the perfect place to start frosting them :) Thanks!

pTsaldari said...

Dear Amber,
Thank you for responding and I was able to successfully subscribe. Posted to my fb wall. Many thanks look forward to our blogging.
Cheers,
Penelope

Lena @ Miss Lucky Piggy said...

Hi, I made this Cake... gorgeous cake! We love the Cream Cheese Icing... thanks for sharing :-)
I put a link back to your blog

http://missluckypiggy.blogspot.com/2010/10/angel-food-cake.html






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