Orange Angel Food Cake With Caramelized Pears

-PEARS-
8 Ripe pears, peeled, cored,
– sliced 1/3-inch thick
1/3 c Sugar
1 1/2 tb Fresh lemon juice
2 tb Brandy
Pinch of salt

This gussied-up version of an old favorite comes from “Stars Desserts”
(Harper Collins) by Emily Luchetti.

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. For cake, put the egg whites in
large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until frothy.
Add the cream of tartar. Increase to high speed and continue to mix,
slowly pouring in the sugar. Continue whipping until the whites have
increased to several times their original size and they form soft,
droopy white peaks.

2. Remove the bowl from the machine and fold in the flour, salt,
vanilla extract, orange rind and lemon juice.

3. Gently scoop the batter into an ungreased 10-inch angel food cake
pan. Bake until top is light brown and a skewer inserted in the
middle comes out clean, about
30 minutes.

4. When the cake has finished baking, invert the pan and allow it to
cool. If your pan does not have legs to rest on when inverted, invert
the inner tube of the pan onto a bottle. When the cake is completely
cool, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan and remove from
the pan.

5. For pears, combine the pears and the remaining ingredients in a
12-inch skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar starts to
caramelize lightly and the pears are soft but still retain their
shape, 10 to 15 minutes. As they begin to color, stir the pears
gently to prevent them from burning.

6. Serve the cake with warm or room-temperature caramelized pears and
raspberry sauce, if desired.