I adore angel food cake! Maybe it’s because it’s so soft and fluffy and sweet or maybe it’s because it’s the only cake I would really want to eat on a semi-regular basis. The only issue with angel food is that it can call for around twelve egg whites. That’s an entire carton of eggs and twelve wasted yolks.
My mom made me a whole wheat angel food cake for my birthday,she even made it with half sugar and half stevia and bought my very non-foodie guilty pleasure,canned whipped cream! She knows me way too well. I loved it but then the day after my birthday,I started obsessing over all those poor wasted egg yolks. The only recipe I could think of was creme brulee and I wasn’t really in the mood to make (or eat) a dozen egg yolks worth of creamy custard. I searched for a recipe that called for six or more egg yolks and eventually stumbled upon the perfect solution. It was the Gold Cake.
The recipe called for a whole cup which shockingly enough worked out to be fourteen egg yolks. It felt absurd separating more eggs just to use up leftovers until I found the perfect frosting recipe to top it all off. Oddly enough,the frosting called for two raw egg whites. It was a match made in heaven. The gold cake turned out to be an easy moist yellow cake. It was dense without being overwhelming and still managed to have a nice crumb. The frosting was like a whipped butter cream. With local organic eggs,I didn’t feel too strange about having raw egg whites in my frosting but you could easily substitute pasteurized egg whites if it gives you pause. I followed the basic recipe on allrecipes.com but added orange extract to the frosting and doubled the recipe.
Gold Cake
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup egg yolks
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Grease and flour two 8 inch round pans.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
- Cream butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add egg yolks and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
- Add milk to butter mixture in 2 parts alternately with flour mixture in 3 parts, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Spread in prepared pans.
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until browned on top and a pick tests clean.
Whipped Butter Cream Frosting
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tsp orange extract
- 2 egg white
- 9 tablespoons butter, softened
- Cream butter together and slowly beat in the confectioners’ sugar.
- Once thoroughly combined,add the egg whites and butter and beat at high speed until smooth and fluffy, approximately 5-10 minutes.
- Add vanilla and orange extract to taste.
Spread half of the frosting on the first layer,leaving the sides unfrosted. Place second layer on top and press down slightly so the frosting is pushed out slightly for a more aesthetically pleasing layering (or not,it will be delicious either way) Spread the second half on the top on the cake and grate orange rind on immediately for the final touch.Viola! You have the perfect soulmate of angel food cake. Rich and decadent but still light and easy enough that you won’t feel too worn out making two cakes in a row.
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