Absinthe Long Pepper Angel Food Cake

For the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Don't grease or flour a 10" round angel food cake pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Set aside.

In a standing mixer, combine the egg whites and salt. Beat on medium until the mixture is just frothy, then sprinkle in the cream of tartar and continue beating until the mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks 2-3 minutes.

Add the remaining sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, then gradually fold in the dry ingredients. Once batter is light and airy, fold in the absinthe and ground long pepper.

Using a spatula, gently transfer the batter into the pan, and bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until it's golden brown and the top springs back when lightly touched.

Remove the cake from the oven, and set it upside down. Let the cake cool for 1-1/2 hours. The cooling is crucial to the structure of the cake.

Gently run a knife along the edges of the pan, and remove the cake from the pan. The cake can be stored in an airtight container for about a week.

For the Clove Simple Syrup:

Add sugar, water and cloves to a small saucepan on medium heat. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Remove from heat and strain out the cloves. Don't worry if the syrup appears overly thick, it will be thinned by the citrus juices in the salad. Set aside to cool.

For the Citrus Salad:

In a medium sized bowl add all of the segmented citrus fruit and combine with cooled simple syrup. Add a nice mound per serving of cake. Garnish with whipped cream.