Angel Food Cake
In my opinion, every avid baker ought to know how to make angel food cake. Whether served on its own or used as a springboard for other desserts, it’s the most neutral tasting cake out there. What’s probably the most appealing about this cake is it doesn’t contain a trace of oil or butter. All its heavenly fluffiness comes from nothing but egg whites and a lot of air. With such a low fat content, an average slice of angel food cake boasts a mere 129 calories!
Much of its lightness comes from technique. First of all, you sift together the dry ingredients 4 times. This aeration of the flour makes it light so it doesn’t weigh things down when they get folded into the meringue.
What’s The Best Way To Whip Egg Whites?
Whip the egg whites at room temperature–they will have much more volume than cold whites. Add the cream of tartar after a few seconds of whipping, when the whites are foamy. Cream of tartar strengthens the protein strands in the whites creating a more stable peak. Once the whites reach soft peaks, slowly add the sugar so it dissolves thoroughly. Add vanilla and continue to whip until stiff peaks form, like what you see here!
Now the flour mixture that you sifted 4 times needs to get folded into this meringue. Sift it in, a quarter cup at a time, and fold gently. Do this until all of the flour mixture is used up. A balloon whisk works best for this!
Spread into a non greased tube pan–greasing it would make the batter weep down the sides while baking. A dry pan allows the batter to climb, keeping your cake nice and high.
Once baked, allow the cake to cool upside down. This will maintain the cake’s height. That’s why angel food cake pans have those legs at the rim!
The cake will remove easily with a gentle sawing around the sides and center with a serrated knife. Use this also to cut the cake. See how tall and fluffy it is?
And that’s how you make angel food cake! You can eat it as is or use it in other recipes like trifles, or crumble it down to use as a crust for pies, bars or cheesecakes. Also, many no bake brownie recipes call for crumbled sponge or angel food cake. No matter what you do with it, you’ll be walking on a cloud when you realize how easy and versatile this pillowy delight is.
Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/3 cups (about 12) egg whites, room temperature
- 1-1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour with 1/2 cup sugar and the salt. Sift onto 2 sheets of waxed paper 4 times. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whip egg whites until very foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Slowly add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, a tablespoon at at time, until fully incorporated. Whip another few minutes until stiff peaks form.
- Sift 1/4 cup of flour mixture over whipped egg whites and fold gently with a balloon whisk until fully combined. Repeat until all flour mixture is used up.
- Spread batter into a non greased 12" tube pan and smooth top evenly. Bake 35-40 minutes until golden and top springs back when lightly pressed. Turn pan upside down and allow to cool completely before removing. Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature or refrigerated for up to one week.