What’s light as air, sweet as sugar, and heavenly as an angel? That’s right, my friends, it’s an Angel Food Cake. This classic American dessert has been a favorite at family gatherings, celebrations, and potlucks for generations – and for a good reason. Its ethereal texture and delicate sweetness make it a universally loved dessert that’s not just delicious but also surprisingly easy to make at home. The key to a perfect Angel Food Cake lies in the technique of folding the ingredients together to retain the airy texture. And guess what? I’m here to guide you through it step-by-step. I love this recipe because it’s simple yet impressive and never fails to win hearts at any gathering. Plus, it’s a great way to use up leftover egg whites. So, are you ready to spread your wings and fly into the world of heavenly delights with this Angel Food Cake recipe?
Ingredients
- 1 cup sifted cake flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups egg white (about a dozen)
- 1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring
Baking Instructions
- Sift of sugar with flour 4 times.
- Beat whites to a foam.
- Add cream of tartar and salt and beat till it holds up peaks.
- Add remaining sugar and flavoring.
- Fold in flour.
Calorie: 140
Total cooking time: 1 hour
Difficulty level: Medium
The Angel Food Cake Saga: A Tale of Triumph and Trepidation
Prologue: The Gathering of the Ingredients
Once upon a time, in the far-off land of my kitchen, I found myself standing at the precipice of culinary creation. Armed with my trusty measuring cups and an unyielding spirit, I set out on my quest. From the darkest recesses of the pantry, I gathered the holy sextet of cake flour, sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and the dual flavorings of vanilla and almond. Little did I know, these seemingly innocuous ingredients were about to make me question everything I knew about baking.
Chapter 1: The Sifting Standoff
With 1 cup of sifted cake flour and 1 1/2 cups of sugar at the ready, I began the first task: the quadruple sifting. Now, I thought, “four times? Can’t be that hard, right?”. Oh, how naive I was. After the first pass, my arm began to ache. By the third, I was considering a career change. But, through gritted teeth and sheer determination, I conquered that sifter on the fourth go.
Chapter 2: The Egg White Whirlwind
Next up, 1 1/2 cups of egg white – approximately a dozen eggs’ worth. Now, cracking an egg is easy. Separating the yolk from the white, on the other hand, is an eggshell tightrope walk. With each egg, I felt like a surgeon, carefully extracting the precious white while leaving the yolk intact. A couple of casualties later (RIP yolks 3 and 7), I had my egg whites, ready for beating into a frothy foam.
Chapter 3: The Peak Performance
With the egg whites foamy, it was time to introduce cream of tartar and salt to the party. The recipe called for 1 1/2 tsp. of tartar and 3/4 tsp. of salt. The goal: to beat until it “holds up peaks”. I found myself engaged in an intense staring contest with the egg whites, waiting for peaks to appear. And lo and behold, they did! I felt like a proud parent watching their child take their first steps.
Chapter 4: The Sugar Rush
Now came the remaining sugar and flavorings. The vanilla and almond flavoring gave off such a heavenly aroma that for a moment, I forgot about the arm ache from the sifting ordeal. I added them in, half expecting the mixture to suddenly transform into a perfect cake on its own. Spoiler alert: it did not.
Chapter 5: The Flour Finale
The final step: folding in the flour. Now, ‘folding’ in baking is a term that always amused me. It’s as if the flour needed to be gently cajoled into the mixture, like tucking it into bed. And with that final fold, my battle with the ingredients came to an end.
Epilogue: The Sweet Conclusion
And thus, the saga came to an end, leaving me with a profound respect for all things baking-related and an angel food cake that tasted heavenly. And while the journey was fraught with trials and tribulations, would I do it again? Absolutely! After all, who can resist the call of the angel food cake?
