Angel
Food Cake. The name could not be more perfect. The cake so light and fluffy it
might as well be served at an angel’s birthday party. I have always loved the dense
yet, airy contraction of this cake.
As
a child roaming around the grocery store with my mom, bored out of my mind, I
made it my duty to find anyway to get that infamous cake from the bakery
section into our cart. Sometimes I pleaded, sometimes I begged, I even sat in
the middle of the aisle with my arms folded across my chest and my legs Indian
style until my mom put it in the cart herself (I really love this cake). I
would sneak it in behind other items or stealthy put it in the bottom section
of the cart next to the water cases.
You
might be questioning why I had to go to such lengths to have such a delectable
cake; well, I wanted this cake every night, of every week and I mean, there’s
only so many variations of a store bought angel food cake, so as you might of
guessed, my parents got bored of it.
Since
my mom is an avid cook and also dabbles in the art of baking, we made a deal,
quite the Faustian bargain. She promised me a weekly bake session of this cake. I
finally got a taste of a homemade angel food cake (the store bought one cannot
even compare) and my mom didn’t have to leave me at home anymore when she went
to the grocery store. This worked out great for the both of us.
I
soon got over my Angel Food Cake obsession and with age, it became a more
moderate enjoyment. This is the first time that I have actually made Angel Food
Cake totally independently. It was quite exciting. The cake is 75% egg whites;
this recipe uses 11. Nearly a dozen, amazing right? You also need some sugar,
flour, a dash of salt, a flavoring of vanilla and lastly cream of tartar. The
cream of tartar is used to stabilize the eggs, so they keep their shape.
Another strange yet fascinating aspect of this cake is the cooling process.
This cake is cooled upside-down. This ensures that the cake keeps its shape and
doesn’t sink in. So have faith, it won’t fall out, trust me! Also, you don’t
grease the pan, which is a tube pan by the way. I know this idea is totally
foreign, and you might think that the cake will never come out, but as it cools
it separates from the pan on its own.
Angel Food Cake
(Adapted from Ina Garten)
Yields 1 Tube Pan Cake
2 cups sifted
superfine sugar (about 1 pound)
1 1/3 cups
sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups egg
whites at room temperature (10 to 12 eggs)
3/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
1 1/2
teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon
pure vanilla extract
(Note: to make the superfine sugar, put about 2 ½ cups or sugar into the
food processor and grid until almost a powdery substance. Place a kitchen towel
over the top of the processor to make sure the powdery residue doesn’t get all
over the counter.)
Preheat the
oven to 350 degrees F. Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with the flour and sift
them together 4 times. Set aside.
Place the egg
whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with
the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the eggs form medium-firm
peaks, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer to medium speed, add the remaining 1
1/2 cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Return to high
speed and beat for a few minutes until thick and shiny. Add the vanilla and
continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 more minute.
Scrape the beaten egg
whites into a large bowl. Sift 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and
fold it very carefully into the batter with a rubber spatula.
Be sure to rotate
the bowl while folding to incorporate all the flour mixture. Continue adding
the flour in three equal additions, sifting and folding until it's all
incorporated.
Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and
bake it for 35 to 45 minutes, until it springs back to the touch. Remove the
cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack. When cool, run a thin,
flexible knife around the cake to remove it from the pan.
I paired this divine cake with some
homemade vanilla whipped cream and some macerated berries.
Berries
1 ½ -2 pints strawberries
½ pint blueberries
½ pint blackberries
1-1 ½ tablespoons superfine sugar
Clean all the fruit with cold water. Cut
off the top of the strawberries with the leaves and quarter them. Put them in a
bowl, and pour the sugar over the strawberries in ½ tablespoon increments,
tossing them with a spoon in between. Continue to add sugar until the
strawberries are just sweet enough, its personal preference. Place the
strawberry-sugar mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes before adding the
other two berries.
Homemade Whipped Cream
½ pint heavy cream
1-1 ½ tablespoon confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Incorporate all three ingredients taste
the mixture and alter to your liking. Place the mixture in a standmixer fitted
with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed and whip until it forms medium
stiff peaks, about 3-5 minutes. Be sure to keep your eye on the mixture while it’s
whipping in the mixer. Place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
To assemble this dessert, place a slice
of cake on a plate, generously spoon some fruit on the descending slope of the
cake and finish with a dollop of the whipped cream. Be kind to yourself, you
just slaved in the kitchen making this dessert, the least you can do is enjoy
it a lot and a lot of it!
It was SO good! Please, for me, don’t be
intimidated by this cake, just try it out, it is totally, 100% worth it and
fairly simple all things considering. You will never buy another store bought
version again!
Enjoy!
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