Mangia Monday: Orange Chiffon Cake

I hope y'all had a terrific Easter weekend! Between the gorgeous weather, a glorious day of worship with family & friends, and a holiday of celebration with fabulous food, you'd think the day couldn't be more perfect, right? Well watching a fellow UGA Grad, Bubba Watson, win his first green jacket at The Masters was the icing on the cake for us! There's certainly nothing more fitting than a Georgia Bulldog winning Georgia's finest event, that's for sure.  Go Dawgs!! :)

But the sweetest part of the afternoon, literally, was visiting with a house full of Jeff's family & mine over a slice of a special family cake. You may remember me mentioning, at Christmas my Mom unearthed an old box of recipe cards from her first years as a newlywed. Some of the biggest treasures we discovered were the recipes of my Great-Grandmother. So for Easter my Mom decided to make Nana's Orange Chiffon Cake. Words can't adequately describe how delicious & light this cake was. It was like an angel food cake, but a tad sweeter, and covered with this amazing orange glaze. Simply divine.

For the cake -

2 cups sifted flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup oil

7 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp grated lemon rind

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

For the glaze -

1 box powdered sugar

3/4 stick of butter, softened

freshly squeezed orange juice

1 TB orange zest

1 tsp good vanilla

1. Measure & sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder & salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside.

2. Make a well & add in order: oil, 7 unbeaten yolks, 3/4 cup cold water, vanilla & lemon rind. Beat with a spoon until smooth.

3. Measure into a large mixing bowl 1 cup egg whites (from about 7 or 8 eggs) plus the cream of tartar. Whip until the whites form very stiff peaks. Note: they should be even more stiff than those of angel food cakes and meringues.

4. Pour egg yolk mixture gradually over whipped egg whites, gently folding with a rubber spatula just until blended. Fold, do not stir.

5. Pour into an ungreased 10-inch tube (bundt) pan. Bake for 55 minutes at 325 degrees, then increase temp to 350 degrees for another 10 minutes.

6. Immediately turn pan upside down, placing the tube over a funnel or bottle and let the cake hang until cold. Loosen the sides with a knife and pop it out of the pan.

7. While the cake is cooling, mix together the glaze. Whip the butter & powdered sugar until well blended. Add only enough orange juice to make the glaze spreadable. Then stir in the orange zest & vanilla. Drizzle over the cake. Using a dredge, shake some extra powdered sugar onto the cake, if desired. Enjoy!

This is seriously my favorite Springtime dessert. All the more lovely considering it comes from a recipe handed down through 3 generations now. What family recipes are a part of your Holiday traditions? And how did y'all celebrate the Easter weekend? I hope you decide to bookmark this cake recipe to enjoy this Spring. I think you'll love it just as much as we did.

Mangia Mangia y'all!