Angel Food Cake
Description
Oh my goodness Angel Food Cake is not only easy, but it freezes beautifully so you can make it ahead – I can’t believe I took so long to try one! Anna Olson’s version from her book, ‘Bake with Anna Olson’, uses 8 egg whites, so I highly recommend you plan to make a Frozen Lemon Pie (which uses 7 egg yolks) at the same time to use up your eggs – then you’ll have a couple of smashing desserts waiting for you in the freezer. If you’re keen on a ‘higher’ angel food slice, a quick internet search will deliver several recipes for cakes that require 12 egg whites. However, we were so satisfied with this result, that I made a couple in quick succession…along with a couple of frozen lemon pies (of course) – enjoy!
Ingredients
1 c. (130 g) cake and pastry flour AND 1 c. sugar – both sifted twice through a fine mesh sieve
8 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 t. cream of tartar AND 1/8 t. salt
1/2 c. (65 g) icing sugar, sifted
1/2 t. vanilla
Serving Suggestions;
fresh berries or cut up fruit
whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325, do not grease your tube pan, and sift together the flour and sugar twice into a large bowl and set it aside.
Using your electric mixer with the whip attachment (or hand beaters), whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt on high speed until foamy. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add in the icing sugar, then turn it back up to high and whip until the egg whites hold a medium peak when the beaters are lifted out. Stir in the vanilla.
Add the flour/sugar mix to the egg whites in 2 additions, using a handheld whisk to fold the dry mix in evenly. Use a spatula to scrape the batter into your waiting pan, level the top, and then bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the cake springs back to a light touch.
The moment the cake is done, turn the cake upside to cool completely in the pan – this will take at least a couple of hours. To remove the cake, use an offset spatula to run along all of the edges, then invert the pan and tap it out onto the counter (or in my case, plastic wrap to get it ready to freeze). Serve as you wish, when you wish – this is a family favorite with cream and berries.
