This week’s recipe of the week is an angel food cake. My dad taught me how to make this cake a few weeks ago, and since it’s way better then a boxed mix I just had to share. As this cake is extremely easy to mess up, I highly recommend you read through this entire post before attempting to make it yourself. This recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
To make this cake you will need the following ingredients:
1 1/2 cups egg whites. About 10-12 large eggs.
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar.
1 cup sifted cake flour. (All- purpose flour works, but not quite as well.)
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup granulated sugar.
1.) In a large mixing bowl, allow the egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2.) Sift powdered sugar and flour together 3 times. The more you sift them together the lighter the cake will be in the end.
3.) Add cream of tartar and vanilla to egg whites, and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed, until soft peaks form. Soft peaks will curl under when you remove the mixer from the egg whites. 
4.) Gradually add the granulated sugar to the egg whites, a few tablespoons at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Stiff peaks will stand straight up when the mixer is removed from the egg whites. 
5.) Sift the powdered sugar/ flour combination over the egg whites, about 1/4 of the mixture at a time, and using a rubber spatula gently fold the mixture into the egg whites.
6.) Pour the batter into an UNGREASED 10-inch tube pan. Using a metal spatula or a knife gently cut through the batter to remove all air pockets.
7.) Bake on the lowest rack in a 350 degree oven 40-45 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and the cracks are no longer sticky. Immediately invert cake and allow to cool thoroughly in the pan. The best way to invert the cake is to get a stand:
However if you don’t have a stand such as this you can always us a tall glass bottle, and fill the bottom with some kind of weight, such as sugar, or marbles:
So here it is inverted on the stand:
While the cake is cooling you can prepare some yummy toppings for your cake. We are using strawberries and whipped cream. To prepare your strawberries just slice into quarters and sprinkle with some sugar.
And just let set in the refrigerator until they get nice and juicy.
Once the cake is cool, run a metal spatula around the outside edge of the pan to loosen, then just carefully tip upside down, and set right side up on a plate.
And here are the final results:
Some tips for a great angel food cake:
- Separate the eggs very carefully, the yolks can deflate the whites even if there is only a tiny bit in them.
- Make sure everything you use in clean and completely grease free. Any oils or grease on the pan, beaters, spatulas, can disrupt the volume of the egg whites.
- If you wait too long to add the granulated sugar to the egg whites, they will take longer to form the stiff peaks.
- Try not to over beat the egg whites after the sugar is added, the mixture should flow slightly when you tilt your bowl.
Until next time. Happy baking!
Printable version: angel food cake
Baking Memories 