Angel food cake is something that my mom made frequently when I was growing up. It was my brother’s favorite cake and he requested it on many of his birthdays. My mom would normally coat it with a vanilla powdered sugar glaze and we’d snack on it throughout the week. It was light and airy, and practically melted in your mouth. For Easter, my mom found me this vintage Bakelite cake breaker and I’ve been dying to make an angel food cake ever since. This angel food cake with Grand Marnier whipped cream was exactly what I was looking for.

Yesterday I was talking to my mom for Mother’s Day on the phone and telling her about the cake. She was surprised that I tackled one made from scratch because she said she never thought she had before – she always used the box mixes. I told her it was pretty easy, except for the fact that I made one fatal flaw on my first attempt.

When I went to make it, I cracked all of my eggs into my mixing bowl and let them come to room temperature. Then, I flipped on my mixer and started beating the eggs and then abruptly stopped. Problem? I put 12 whole eggs, yolks and whites in the bowl. I felt like such a moron. Back to the store I went getting a couple more dozen eggs. Awesome.

I got the eggs and made it RIGHT this time, only using the whites. So, please don’t make my mistake and only use the WHITES. I’ve now got 12 eggs sitting in my fridge and it’s been decided that I’m going to have omelets every day and night this week so please give me any suggestions you have for using up all of these eggs! This cake ended up being fantastic though, despite my blunder, and the Grand Marnier whipped cream really made it something special. My mom pointed out that this would make a dessert for Memorial Day because of the red, white, and blue and I have to agree, it’s the perfect complement to any backyard barbecue or celebration.

Angel Food Cake with Grand Marnier Whipped Cream

(Angel food cake adapted from Martha Stewart)

For the Angel Food Cake:

1 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
12 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tsps vanilla extract

For the Grand Marnier Whipped Cream:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
4 Tbsp sugar
3-4 Tbsp Grand Marnier
Strawberries and blueberries, for garnish

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and set aside. In a mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add in the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks have formed. Add in the sugar gradually and continue to beat until stiff peaks have formed. Add in the vanilla and beat to combine.

Gently transfer egg mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the sifted flour a little in four separate batches. Each time gently folding in the flour until incorporated with a rubber spatula and adding the next batch of flour.

Gently spoon the batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan and smooth the top. Release air bubbles by cutting a knife through the batter. Bake until top of cake is golden, about 40 minutes. Take out of the oven and invert pan to cool for at least an hour. Run a knife around the pan to gently remove cake from the mold. Cut the cake into two layers, set aside.

To make the whipped cream, place the cream in a preferably cold bowl and beat on high until soft peaks have formed. Add the sugar and Grand Marnier and continue to whip the cream until stiff peaks have formed.

Place half of the whipped cream on the bottom layer of the cake, place the other half of the angel food on top, and finish with the rest of the whipped cream. Garnish with strawberries and blueberries and serve.