I have a good friend from law school who always thinks I am pulling her leg. Don’t get me wrong – I am often pulling her leg – but if one thing is true in this world, I would never steer SLRH wrong. She knows that, of course, but it doesn’t stop her from rolling through the entire extended potential aftermath of whatever I have just thrown at her, in her mind, before re-engaging with me.
And so, my friends, you should know by now that I would never steer you wrong. Remember that when I proclaim: Angel Food Cake is actually really easy to make. Caveat: If you have a stand mixer. I haven’t tried it with a hand mixer. It does require a special Angel Food Cake pan, that is shaped appropriately and has removable parts so you can slide out the cake in one piece. However, I actually completely screwed up skipped what I would have thought was a major step during my last cake-bake, and did not realize it until I reviewed the recipe to evaluate it for posting on my blog. It still turned out perfect. If you can whip egg whites until they peak, you can make this cake.
Many of you do not believe me when I say things are “easy” to make. Well, to you, I say… maybe convince a friend who likes to make to make this cake for you. It may have a bit of sugar in it, but it is fat-free, and even after a big meal, there is always room for a piece of angel food cake.
I made my most recent Angel Food Cake during my Pantry Challenge, further detailed on Instagram, where due to necessity, honestly – my freezer, fridge, and pantry were SO full that I had absolutely no idea what I had, my fridge was making weird noises, and mustard fell on my dad {don’t worry, it was plastic and unopened} – I worked my way through only items I had on-hand for a full week.
When I have a dozen eggs staring at me, and any sort of gathering, event, or arguable reason to have made a cake on the horizon, I can’t resist making an Angel Food Cake.
Are you ready for this? –> This Angel Food Cake only has FOUR major ingredients (flour, sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar), plus a pinch of salt plus a splash of vanilla. I know, it does not seem possible, but it is. Who knew that a gorgeous, impressive, light and fluffy Angel Food Cake was the perfect in-stock treat to throw together? Well, me. And now, you.
Egg whites are easier to whip into shape when they are room temperature. However, they are easier to separate when they are cold. Vortex, I know. What I do is separate the eggs when they are cold, and let them sit in a glass measuring pyrex until they come to room temperature. If I don’t have the luxury of time, I place the glass pyrex into a large bowl, filled with hot water, to artificially bring the eggs to room temperature.
The baked cake needs to cool completely in the pan, and the pan needs to be inverted. So, upside-down. This picture shows what it looks like when I inverted the pan and removed the outer edge from the pan – but you should cool it with the full pan intact.
A lot of the cake’s edge will stick to the pan – that is what is supposed to happen. It is how you show off that great, trademark Angel Food Cake crumb. {Side note: It’s also how you make a really annoying pan to clean.} I use a cheap plastic knife to separate the cake from the pan where it sticks.
Had some frozen blueberries that were asking for this:
- 1.5 c egg whites (about 12 eggs; make sure no egg yolk makes it to the bowl)
- 1.5 t cream of tartar
- .25 t salt
- 1.5 t vanilla
- 1.5 c sugar
- 1.25 c flour (I use cake flour, but you can use all-purpose)
- Heat oven to 375.
- Place the egg whites in a stand mixer bowl. Using the whisk attachment and starting at a low speed, slowly move up to medium speed, until the eggs are frothy (about 30 seconds to 1 minute).
- Add the cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla. Whisk at medium-high until the egg whites get stiff. Try not to over-whisk {which, admittedly, may be hard to figure out your first few times}, making sure the egg whites still look moist.
- Slowly add one cup of sugar while mixing at a slow speed.
- Remove the mixer from the stand. Slowly incorporate the remaining sugar and flour, by hand. Add just a few spoonfuls at a time, and fold it in using a large silicone spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom and edges of the bowl, and evenly distribute the dry ingredients. Many people like to have the sugar and flour already mixed together (with each other) for this step.
- Push the batter into an ungreased Angel Food Cake pan.
- Use a dull knife to swirl through the batter, breaking up large air bubbles.
- Smooth the top down using a spatula, and use a paper towel to wipe any batter off of the edges or middle of the pan, so it doesn't burn.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, until the top turns golden brown and the cake looks like it has dried out.
- When you remove the pan from the oven, immediately turn it upside down. If you are not using a pan that can balance easily when upside down, many recipes suggest balancing the middle hole over a bottle or funnel.
- When the cake has completely cooled, you can remove it from the pan. I like to use a cheap plastic knife (like one that comes with takeout food) to loosen the cake from the edge of the pan wherever possible. The plastic knife ensures you won't scratch your pan.
- Cut with a serrated knife to serve.
The last time I made this cake, I failed to beat the one cup of sugar into the eggs (Step 4, above) – I just folded it in with the flour and remaining sugar – and I heard no complaints about the taste, and regarding how it looked, well…
Adapted from this KitchenAid recipe.
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