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1
Preheat the oven to 375F. Line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil, leaving 3 inches to extend over the sides of the pan. Do not grease the pan or foil, this will prevent the cake from being able to climb the pan and rise.
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2
In a medium bowl: Sift the flour, sugar and salt together. In an electric stand mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the sugar mixture into the egg whites, 1/3 cup at a time, folding just until blended. Fold in the vanilla, and spoon the batter into the pan. The pan will be very full, this is OK.
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3
Place the pan on an oven rack placed in the bottom third of the oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Turn the cake upside down onto a lightly greased wire rack, allow to cool for 1 hour or until completely cool, with the pan over the cake. Once cake has cooled, remove the pan and peel the foil off the cake.
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4
For the Icing:
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5
Beat the cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the grapefruit juice, beating just until blended. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating at low speed until mixed. Gently stir in the pink grapefruit zest and the pulp. If not using the icing now, you can cover and keep in the refrigerator. I like to serve the icing cold, it tastes more refreshing this way.
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6
Cut the cake into squares and spoon the icing over the top of the cake, allowing icing to drizzle down the sides. Serve as is, or garnish with Gumdrop Rose Petals.
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7
For the Gumdrop Petals:
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8
Take a gum drop, kneading and pressing it with your fingers until it looks like a flower petal. Dredge lightly in sugar and let dry on a wire rack for at least a couple of hours, but best results are after 24 hours. When working with the gumdrop, use a dampened paper towel to moisten your fingers, this will help prevent the candy from sticking to your fingers. You can combine different colors of gumdrops, to make new colors; like red and white for pink petals. Another technique is to press a small amount of one color, to the side of a larger ball of a different color. This creates the look of a petal with different color strokes.
