Angel food cake is one of the desserts (and there are quite a few) that always reminds me of my grandmother, Audrey. She swore by generic angel food cake mixes from ALDI or the Dollar Store. Because angel food cake made from a mix was good enough for Audrey it has always been the way I've made it in the past. But recently I needed to use up a bunch of egg whites left over from making ice cream, so I decided to try making one from scratch. To be honest, I don't know if I will be going back. The homemade version took about the same amount of time as a mix and turned out so delicious.
Classic Angel Food Cake
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups egg whites (about 9)
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Sift 1/2 cup sugar and flour together twice; set aside.
Move oven rack to the lowest position and preheat oven to 350°. Add cream of tartar, extracts and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add remaining sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gradually fold in flour mixture, adding about 1/2 cup at a time.
Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.
Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate.
If you don't have a tube pan (pictured above) you can use two ungreased loaf pans instead. One of the best things about angel food is that it is relatively guilt-free, with only about 115 calories per serving. This recipe makes 12-16 servings. I like to have mine with whipped cream and macerated strawberries.
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