Best ever orange sponge cake

12 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
6 Egg whites (3/4 cup)
¼ teaspoon Salt
6 teaspoons Orange juice; fresh
1¾ cup All-purpose flour; sifted
1½ cup Granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Orange peel; freshly grated
6 Egg yolks
Confectioners sugar

Directions

Note: If desired, spray tube pan or kugelhopf pan with nonstick baking spray before filling with batter and baking. To cool, DO NOT invert on bottle. Instead place pan on wire rack to cool 30 minutes. Turn cake out onto wire rack and cool completely. In large bowl of electric mixer, let egg whites warm to room temperature, about 1 hour. Measure flour; sift about 2 cups flour once on a sheet of waxed paper; fill cups lightly to overflowing; with a spatula, cut off excess to make 1¾ level cups. Sift flour with salt; set aside. With electric mixer at medium speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually, beat in ½ cup of the granulated sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until stiff peaks form when beaters are slowly raised. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl of electric mixer, with the same beaters at high speed, beat egg yolks until very thick and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. DO NOT UNDER BEAT. Gradually, beat in remaining 1 cup granulated sugar; continue beating until mixture is smooth. At low speed, blend flour mixture and orange juice alternately into egg yolk mixture, beginning and ending with flour and guiding batter into beaters with scraper. Add orange peel. With whisk or rubber spatula, using under and over motion, fold yolk mixture gently into whites. Pour batter into an ungreased (see note 1) 9 ¾ to 10" x 4 ½" kugelhopf pan or 10 x 4" tube pan without removable bottom. Bake 50 to 55 minutes until cake springs back when pressed with finger. Invert over bottle (see note 1); cool completely. Using an up and down motion, run spatula around edge of cake and tube. Invert cake and shake to release; place on serving plate. Sift Confectioners sugar over top of cake. To cut cake, use knife with serrated edge. Cut gently, going back and forth with sawing motion.

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