Fireworks Angel Food Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan, making sure to get in all the crevices; dust with flour and tap out the excess. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the sour cream and vanilla. (The batter may look curdled.) Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk; beat until combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 15 minutes in the pan; loosen the edge of the cake with a knife and invert onto the rack to cool completely.
• Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and 1 tablespoon water in a bowl; add a splash more water if the glaze is too thick. Spoon over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Decorate with nonpareils. Let stand until set, 5 to 10 minutes. Put rock candy sticks in the center of the cake.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Whisk the sugar, cream of tartar and salt together in a medium bowl.
• Add the egg whites and 2 tablespoons water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Beat on low speed until the whites are foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and slowly sprinkle in the sugar mixture (this should take about 3 minutes). Watching closely, continue beating until medium-soft peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes longer. (You want the mixture to droop when lifted out of the bowl. If the peaks stand straight up, you have taken it too far and the cake will sink during baking). Add the vanilla and mix until just combined.
• Remove the mixing bowl from the stand and working in three additions, very gently fold the flour into the egg whites until just incorporated. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch footed angel food cake pan and smooth the top.
• Bake until the top is golden and springs back when touched and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the cake upside-down on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan, about 3 hours.
• Run a knife or a small offset spatula around the edges of the pan and gently tap it on the counter until it releases from the pan. Use a sharp serrated knife to slice the cake -- a regular knife will smash it. Serve with berries and whipped cream.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sift all the flour and 3/4 cup of the sugar into a large bowl using a fine mesh strainer. Sift another 2 times. Set aside.
• Combine the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment fitted. Beat on medium until soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted up.
• Turn the stand mixer back on at a medium speed. Gradually stream in the remaining 1 cup of sugar into the egg whites as they're being whisked. Once it's all been added, let the mixer run on high speed until stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted up. Add the almond extract and vanilla extract and beat in until just combined.
• Take 1/3 of this beaten egg white mixture and add to the bowl of the flour and sugar. Mix together to combine. Add this to the bowl of remaining beaten egg whites and fold together gently with a spatula until just combined, being careful not to knock too much air out of the egg whites while doing this. Finally, fold in the rainbow sprinkles with a few strokes - don't overmix or the sprinkles will start to bleed into the batter and discolour it.
• Spoon the batter into an ungreased, 10-inch diameter tube pan. Smooth out into an even layer.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden, the top of the cake should spring back when gently pressed with a fingertip. Invert the cake onto a wire rack and leave in its pan to cool completely, about 2 hours.
• Once cooled, use a metal spatula or butter knife to loosen the cake from the edges of the pan. Tip out onto a wire rack.
• Make the candy melt fireworks:.
• Tip the different coloured candy melts into separate, heatproof bowls. Set each one over a pan filled with 1 inch of simmering water on the stove. Let melt, stirring occasionally, until they're fully melted and smooth.
• Divide the colours into individual piping bags fitted with small round tips.
• Pipe firework shapes of different colours, sizes and shapes onto a piece of parchment paper. Set aside to cool and set.
• Make the frosting:.
• Place the cold heavy cream into a large bowl and beat with a whisk or electric beaters until it starts to thicken. Add the powdered sugar and briefly stir inches
• Take 4 small bowls and add 1/4 cup of the whipped cream to each bowl. Add pink food colouring to one bowl, green to another, purple to another and yellow to the last small bowl. Stir through so you have one small bowl of each of the colours. Divide these into 4 separate piping bags fitted with a small round tip.
• To the remaining whipped cream in the large bowl, add the blue food colouring and stir through.
• It's important not to over-stir the cream or it will start to separate. If it starts to look grainy you can pour a little un-whipped heavy cream into the bowl and gently stir that in which should help bring it back from separation.
• Frost the cake:.
• Cover the cooled cake with the blue frosting, using an offset spatula to spread it over the top, sides and inner hole in a smooth layer.
• Take your other colours of whipped cream frosting and pipe fireworks all over the top and sides of the cake.
• Insert the candy melt fireworks you made earlier into the top of the cake.
• Serve immediately or keep chilled, covered for up to 2 days.

Steps:

• Sift flour with 3/4 cups sugar 4 times; set aside.
• With a hand-held electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed. Gradually beat in remaining 1 cup sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time.
• Beat well after each addition; continue to beat until stiff peaks form when beaters are raised out of mixture.
• With a rubber spatula, gently fold almond extract and vanilla into the beaten egg whites.
• Sprinkle about a quarter of the flour mixture evenly over the egg whites; fold in gently with a spatula, about 15 strokes. Repeat until all of the flour mixture and fold in the sprinkles with about 10 to 12 more strokes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F
• Gently spoon batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Cut through batter in pan with a narrow spatula or knife. With rubber spatula, spread batter to smooth the top and make sure batter is spread to touch the sides of the pan.
• Bake on a lower oven rack for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched with fingertip. Invert pan to cool completely, about 2 hours. Use a narrow spatula or knife to gently loosen cake from sides and center of the tube pan. Gently, grasping the center tube, lift cake out of pan. Use a narrow spatula or knife to loosen the cake from the bottom. Remove the cake from tube section and frost with a fluffy white frosting or serve with sweetened strawberries or other fruit.