Angel Food Cake with Egg Whites

Ingredients:

• 1 and 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp. cake flour, sifted
• 12 egg whites* (the closer to room temperature the better)
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon orange extract, or any extract of your choice
• 1.5 tsp cream of tartar

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C.
2. In a food processor, pulse the sugar for about 2 minutes until it's ultra-fine. Sift half the sugar with the salt and cake flour. Set the remaining ground sugar aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites, water, orange extract, and cream of tartar thoroughly. Beat for 2 minutes, then use a mixer. Slowly sift the reserved sugar into the bowl, beating continuously on medium speed. Beat until medium peaks form, then dust the entire surface of the foam with the sifted flour mixture. Gently fold in with a spatula. Continue in this manner until all the flour is incorporated.
4. Carefully transfer the mixture to an ungreased cake pan with a hole in the center. Bake for 35 minutes, then check for doneness with a wooden skewer (a skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean).
5. Cool upside down on a wire rack for at least 1 hour, then remove the cake from the pan.
   
   Note *
   
   To make it easier to separate the whites from the yolks, choose the freshest eggs..