exclusively Skirt in the Kitchen
This Don Juan Angel Cake is an angel food cake made and baked with real pesticide-free/organic Don Juan red climbing roses, in the batter and in the frosting. No trace of vanilla extract is added, only the scent and flavor of the natural roses in simple syrup.
The day before baking, make the rose syrup of 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 2 cups comfortably packed rose petals; meaning, don’t over-pack, don’t pressure and bruise the petals.
Bring to a heat in a saucepan over the stove, turn out the heat, then cover and let steep.
Stir and cool completely. The roses automatically turn pink, making the water the color of dark red wine. Cover and refrigerate until the following day. The roses will continue to steep while giving the liquid more rose flavor.
The next day: For the cake, have 12 large eggs kept chilled at the time of beating. For meringue or for an angel food cake, the eggs beat to good stiffness and formation when the eggs are cold as opposed to them being at room temperature in other cake recipes. [Do not make this a day ahead-angel food cake begins to get stale after the first day. Bake and serve on the very day of a function if you want the cake to taste fresh, the cake springing back by the touch of a finger.]
Separate the eggs, beating only the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy.
Beat and quickly add 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar, 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1 1/2 cups sugar-a few tablespoons at a time. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Fold in 1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sifted cake flour, 1/4 cup at a time.
Fold in 1 1/2 teaspoons of the rose simple syrup.
Gently fill into an ungreased tall fluted pan. Greasing the pan for angel food causes the cake to shrink considerably and make it not rise.
To remove any air pockets, run a straight edge through the batter once it’s in the pan. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. When out of the oven, turn upside-down while in the pan on a cooling rack for 40-45 minutes. Having it cool longer in the pan may cause it to stick to the pan.
Run a long cake spatula along the edges, then around the center, when releasing the cake from the pan. Cool the cake on a rack for 10-15 minutes before frosting.
For the frosting: Beat a half-stick of softened butter, then add 3 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1/8 cup whole milk, and 1/8 cup of the rose simple syrup. Add a small amount of milk, just enough to make it a smooth consistency that will barely move, making the frosting want to fall off the edges of the cake-but it doesn’t, because the frosting isn’t too thin. You just have to get it right so it sets on the cake for good presentation. Frost only the top portion of the cake, having it just thick enough to hold the roses without sliding the flowers off the cake.
The petals eaten in the frosting with every fork-bite even out the taste over all. It’s a gourmet cake with a sweeter frosting than average, a delight for a gathering with family.
“Ring-a-round the rosie, a pocket full of posies”
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