The Bright Ingredient Alton Brown Adds To Angel Food Cake

There's something about an angel food cake that makes it different from other desserts. Its springy, lighter-than-air texture — thanks to all those egg whites whipped into a cloud of fluffiness — is one of its defining features. But its taste is often described in less than flattering terms. To be blunt, this cake is kind of meh. Its mild, subtle sweetness is not for everyone. Enter, Alton Brown and his magic extracts. According to "The Good Eats" host's website, he adds a little lemon or orange extract to his batter to brighten the flavor.

Citrus extracts are flavor bombs. They are made by soaking the fruity rind or zest in vodka or other similar neutral-tasting alcohol. Over time, the booze absorbs the flavor, becoming concentrated and citrusy. Their simplicity means you can make your own extracts if you have the patience. But one of the many merits of both orange and lemon extract is that each imparts its distinctive taste upon whatever it is mixed with — but not in an overwhelming, in-your-face kind of way. 

If you don't have a favorite recipe, you should try this upgrade on Tasting Table's light and fluffy angel food cake. Here's what you need to consider.

If you choose to use lemon extract, you get the lemon taste without any of the tart, bitterness that you get with fresh lemon juice. This addition also highlights the sweetness of this cake that would otherwise remain hidden from the taste buds. The good news is it doesn't take much to lift and enhance the flavor either. 

Orange extract has a similar effect on your angel food cake. It's not overly intense but adds a rich, orange sweetness to each bite. If you are wondering if you can get the same flavor using citrus zest, the answer is yes; however, zest will change the texture of your cake. If you generally put zest in your cake mix and want to try using extract in its place, 2 teaspoons of orange zest are the equivalent of a quarter teaspoon of orange extract. 

Regardless of your flavor choice, you want to add the extract after you've whipped the egg whites and sugar, but before you add the dry ingredients. And if you tend to have problems when it comes to separating the egg whites from the yolks before whipping them into a foamy frenzy, Alton Brown reveals that using the freshest eggs you can find will make it easier to divide the two more readily. Follow Brown's lead and you can file this under ways to make the best angel food cake.