Recipe: Orange Chiffon Cake with Orange or Lemon Butter Frosting

ORANGE CHIFFON CAKE WITH ORANGE OR LEMON BUTTER FROSTING

FOR THE CAKE:
2 1/4 cups cake flour*
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup cold water**
2 tablespoons grated orange zest (colored portion of peel)
1 cup egg whites (7 or 8)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
FOR THE FROSTING:
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons grated orange or lemon zest
About 3 tablespoons orange or lemon juice

TO PREPARE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add, in this order, oil, egg yolks, water and orange zest. Beat with a spoon until smooth.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Pour yolk mixture gently over beaten whites, gently folding with a rubber spatula just until blended. Pour into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan.

Bake cake until top springs back when touched lightly, about 1 1/4 hours. Invert pan on heatproof funnel; let hang until cake is cold. Remove from pan.

TO PREPARE FROSTING:
Combine margarine, sugar, zest and juice in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until of spreading consistency. Frost top and sides of cake.

*You can substitute 2 cups all-purpose flour for the 2 1/4 cups cake flour if you also increase the number of egg yolks to 7. If you use self-rising flour, omit the baking powder and salt.

**For more orange flavor, juice 2 oranges after grating the zest, then add enough water to equal 3/4 cup.

Makes 12 to 16 servings
Source: Virginia Horrell of High Ridge, from an old flour company ad to st. Louis post-dispatch, June 21, 2006