Grandma’s Daffodil Angelfood Cake with Citrus Glaze

My grandmother was an orphan.  She had 5 children who survived and raised them on her own when her husband abandoned during the Depression.  I have many wonderful memories of a woman who worked in a factory at night so the young children sleeping could be cared for by the older ones.  She was humble, proud, smart, so giving, very religious and always happy.  She paid her bills in cash, and any small change left at the end of each month was used to buy the family a small amount of candy from the 10 cent store…  She never felt deprived, depressed or dependent.  Happiness and laughter were served with the simplest of meals.

I am always reminded of one of my favorite stories about her courage when I watch one of my favorite “teaching” moments from the movie “Bronx Tales”.  My father worked many jobs before leaving school in 10th grade to join his older brother on his milk route.  They would give most of it to grandma and their 3 younger sisters.  At 16, he had an emergency appendectomy, and when he was ready to be dismissed, my grandmother went to the bank with his bank book to get the cash to pay his bill.  She was so angry to find nothing in his account, and recuperating or not, marched into his hospital room and confronted my father… Where is the money Tommy?  Where??  Sheepishly he said he lost it gambling at Sol Schneider’s clothing store..  He would park the milk truck at the end of the shift and go in to play a few hands or roll a few dice… Well that was all she needed.. Don’t go there ma, don’t..  but go she did.  This sweet Irish lady went to the back room and ask for Sol.. She demanded all the money be returned since he let an underage boy gamble.   Otherwise she would report him.  And he was to never permit her son to gamble again… Hospital bill paid, his love of cards turned into a world class bridge player and an example for us all what real courage was.   That and showing us the love of simple foods made with her special touch, are simple and honest memories that live forever.  

Every birthday I could choose a cake for either my mother or grandmother to make for me.  I always chose Grandma’s angelfood.  After her death, no one had the recipe and I searched for decades. Thankfully I now have it to share.  It keeps for quite a few days and serves a crowd, celebrating or not. I hope the effort is as memorable to your family and friends as it has been to me and mine.

  
Grandma’s Daffodil (Sunshine) Angelfood Cake with Citrus Glaze:  Oven temp 325 degrees

Room temperature:  12 eggs  Sift 1 C of cake flour, 1/2 C sugar 2 times, and you will sift again as you add to base.  I use a wire strainer and push through the flour and sugar to one bowl then back to the original.  I find this easier than a sifter, which I find too slow.

Beat the 12 WHITES preferably in a copper bowl, or non reactive, till frothy.  Beat in 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar and after a minute begin gradually adding 3/4 C of sugar.  Continue beating till stiff peaks form.  Sift the flour mix one more time BUT this time over the whites in 4 proportions.  FOLD  in gently till each addition incorporated and set aside…

Beat the 12 YOLKS with 1 teaspoon each of vanilla, orange juice, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract till thick.  Then fold in 1 Tablespoon of zest from a lemon and an orange..FOLD this into the white gentle with slicing drags of the spatula along with some general overlapping.  You do not want to mix completely.  Your goal is patches of yellow and white.  

Put into a 10 inch tube pan, UN-greased.  Bake 50 – 55 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly pressed..

COOL UPSIDE DOWN ( I use a large funnel but a bottle can work as well) for about 1-1/2 hours.  To release, run the dull edge of a knife all around areas where cake has contacted the pan and tube carefully. You will find this not as difficult as it sounds, but be gentle and patient.

Continue to cool right side up on a rack and when glaze ready for the cool cake, place on a cake plate etc..  The glaze will run off but I gather and re-apply and then wipe the edge of pan clean after glaze on cake is set.

GLAZE:   With a hand mixer on low speed, mix 4 Tablespoons of orange juice, 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon each of orange and lemon extracts and approx. 3 C of xxx (powdered or icing sugar). You can adjust with more juices if too thick, or more xxx sugar if too thin.  It should hold for the most part with a slow drip down the sides… I tend to place intermittent plops on the edges to help ice the sides, and am ready with a small off set spatula to help smooth.

THIS CAKE IS BETTER THE SECOND DAY WHEN THE GLAZE HAS HAD TIME TO BE ABSORBED INTO THE CAKE.  IT WILL SERVE A VERY GRATEFUL CROWD…