ANGEL FOOD CAKE ICING RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Butter a 25 x 20cm baking tin, and line the base with baking parchment. Stack a sheet of baking parchment over a sheet of foil, then fold in half so the parchment is facing out. Use this to divide the tin into three sections crosswise, each about 8cm wide.
• Melt the butter, remove from the heat and set aside. Put the sugar and eggs in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of just simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Beat using an electric whisk until really thick and pale, about 4-5 mins.
• Add a fifth of the mixture to the melted butter and mix to combine. Pour the butter mixture into the egg mixture, and carefully fold in along with the flour. Divide the mixture between three bowls. Leave one bowl of batter plain, then fold a drop each of pink food colouring and raspberry extract into the second bowl, and a drop each of yellow food colouring and lemon extract into the third bowl.
• Carefully pour one of the batters into each of the three sections in the prepared tin. Bake for 12-15 mins until cooked through, or a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then carefully transfer the three cakes to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
• To make the buttercream, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and milk together for 5 mins with an electric whisk until pale and creamy. To assemble the cake, put the plain sponge on a board and spread with half the buttercream. Top with the raspberry sponge, then spread with the remaining buttercream and top with the lemon sponge. Trim the sides so they're straight, even and neat.
• To make the fondant icing, sift the sugar into a bowl and mix with 1½-3 tbsp water until you have a thick, droppable icing. Transfer a quarter of the icing to a second bowl, and mix in a drop of pink food colouring. Transfer the pink icing to a piping bag.
• Spread the plain fondant icing over the top of the lemon sponge, making sure it doesn't drip down the sides. Pipe thin lines of pink icing on top across the width of the cake, space apart. Drag a cocktail stick through the lines lengthways to create a marbled effect. Leave to set slightly, then slice the cake into six even rectangles.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (fan 160C) and arrange an oven shelf in the bottom third of the oven. Sift the flour and 100g/3½oz of the caster sugar together in a bowl and set aside.
• Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric hand whisk or mixer on a high speed for one minute until frothy. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, cream of tartar and salt and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes, or until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl. Increase the speed and add the remaining 200g/7oz of caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time to form firm, but not stiff peaks.
• Sprinkle over one-third of the flour mixture and fold gently to combine. Repeat with the remaining two-thirds of the flour mixture folding gently to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.
• Transfer the batter to a 25cm/10in angel food cake pan. Gently run a knife through the centre of the batter to remove any pockets of air. Cook for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and immediately turn upside down onto the tin’s cooling legs, or place over the neck of a wine bottle. Leave to cool for at least one hour.
• Run a knife around the inner and outer edges of cake to remove it from the pan. Invert onto a plate. Carefully use a palette knife to separate the cake from the base of the pan. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
• For the lemon curd, mix the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together in a large pan. Cook over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir the sides and base of the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Pass through a sieve into a large jug. Fill two 350g/12oz glass jars with the lemon curd and seal with lids. Cover the remaining curd with cling film and leave to cool.
• For the topping, whisk the cream and vanilla extract in a bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Spoon the topping over the angel food cake and, using a palette knife, coat the top and sides of the cake, smoothing as you go.
• Cut the passion fruit in half and scoop out the seeds. Stir the passion fruit into the reserved, cooled lemon curd and drizzle over the angel food cake before serving. You may want to use just one of the jars of lemon curd to serve with the cake and save the other to eat separately.