Our Traditional Easter Dessert

For many years now this wonderful cake has been an Easter tradition for our family. We all love this cake and I had the entire family this year for Easter dinner. We gathered in the early afternoon, had our dinner and afterwards had multiple Easter Egg Hunts for the little ones. It was truly a blessed Easter. I am joining Kim at Quit Eating Out for Saturday Swap and am sharing our Traditional Easter Dessert.

I discovered this recipe many years ago in a cookbook called The Heritage Of Southern Cooking by Camille Glenn. In her book  she says, "This is the cake I created when, as a young woman, I catered debutante parties and weddings in Louisville. This cake holds a secret all to itself--it is a magical formula that will fool you". It truly is a wonderfully moist, rich, cake that seems to cry out for special occassions.

Camille's Golden Cointreau Cake

8 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons Cointreau

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

 Separate the eggs. Put the yolks in one large mixing bowl and the whites in another large mixing bowl.

 Beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer until they have thickened and are smooth. Beat in the sugar slowly, then continue beating until the mixture turns a lighter shade of yellow and is smooth. Add the orange juice and blend thoroughly.

 Measure the flour, then sift it twice. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the egg yolk mixture and gently fold it in by hand with a whisk or a rubber spatula, or with the electric mixer on a very low speed. Fold in the Cointreau and vanilla.

 Add the salt to the egg whites and beat until they begin to turn white and foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until the egg whites hold a stiff peak but are not dry and grainy, about 4 minutes more.

 Fold a few spoonfuls of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Then add the remaining egg whites to the batter, gently folding them in.

 Spoon the batter into a 10 X 4 1/2-inch ungreased angel food cake pan (a tube pan with a removable bottom). The pan should be no more than three-quarters full. Place the cake pan on the middle shelf of the oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, or until the cake springs back at once when lightly touched, about 1 1/4 hours.

 Remove the cake from the oven, turn it upside down on the tube pan legs, and allow it to rest overnight before frosting.

 Loosen the cake with a thin sharp knife and unmold it. Put the cake on a plate or on a flat surface covered with waxed paper or foil. Spread the frosting over the cake.

COINTREAU FROSTING

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk

6-8 tablespoons Cointreau, or more as needed

 Put the butter in a large mixing bowl.

Add the confectioners' sugar and salt. Beat well with an electric mixer. Add the egg yolk, then slowly add 6 tablespoons of the Cointreau. Continue to beat the frosting until it is smooth, thick, and pliable, 3 minutes. Add more Cointreau as needed; it usually takes at least 8 tablespoons. This frosting must be thick.

 Frost the cake generously in a swirl design. Allow the frosting to firm for 30 minutes and then lift the cake to a serving platter.

Note: This is also lovely garnished with half slices of oranges. It is a delicious cake and I think something really special. There is also a side note that it freezes beautifully even frosted. She also suggests that the frozen slices are quite good served as is with coffee. This I've never tried.

I always decorate this cake with fresh pansy's. Easter came very late this year so I babyed my pansy's along so I would have them to use for decoration. Here in N Fl when our hot weather arrives many of my annuals are ready to be pulled up. Thankfully they were fine.

It is an angel food cake but so much more moist. It is a fabulous cake with that subtle orange flavor of the Cointreau and I hope you will try this recipe for your next special occassion. You won't be disappointed.

There are some wonderful recipes shared at Kim's blogging party so take a look at other participants by clicking here.