Angel Food cupcakes with a curd filling are a great way to celebrate the whole egg in this tasty dessert.
The inspiration for this little dessert came from my Citrus Curd recipe. As I mentioned, I have way too many pomelo’s in my backyard — as well as a lemon tree — so during spring and summer citrus curd is a must-make. But I do feel bad tossing those egg whites…
I also love angel food cake. Light, fluffy, and relatively healthy since it’s main ingredient is egg whites. *Insert lightbulb over head here.*
This is a basic angel food cupcake recipe. See my notes below the recipe for a few tips and tricks about making angel food cake. And check out my Citrus Curd recipe if you’d like to make your own.
Angel Food Cupcakes…With Citrus Curd
Ingredients
- 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cups fine-grain sugar
- 6 egg whites
- 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 to 1 full cup curd (see Citrus Curd recipe
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350º and prepare a 12-count cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour with both sugars. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer whip egg whites on high speed until frothy (about 1 minute).
- Add the cream of tartar, vanilla and salt, and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes).
- 1/4 cup at a time, slowly sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg mixture, folding gently between each addition. The flour should be completely incorporated, but the eggs should maintain their stiff peaks. Spoon the batter into the lined cupcake tin and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly golden around the peaks.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
- Once cool and removed from the cupcake tin, use a sharp paring knife to gently remove a center circle from each cupcake.
- With a teaspoon, carefully fill each cupcake with the curd.
A Few Notes on Angel Food Cake:
The first time you whip the egg whites, you want to form “soft peaks,” meaning the egg whites will be completely frothy and foamy, comprising of a bunch of tiny bubbles. However, they are still wet in texture. See below.
The second time you whip the eggs (with the cream of tartar and salt), the egg whites will form “stiff peaks,” meaning they hold their shape and form. See below.
Hopefully you can see the difference. If not, you can always test how stiff those peaks are the way I did.
Lastly, if you’re using my Citrus Curd recipe, do make sure the curd is set before inserting into the cupcakes. I’ve indicated you can use up to 1 cup of curd — but you may be able to use more or less. This will be dependent on your knife skills (how well you can create a space inside those cupcakes), taste preference, and how neat an eater you are. As you can see, I slightly over-filled mine to give the illusion of frosting.
