Angel Food Cake
- 1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 12 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Fresh raspberries
- Confectioners sugar
- 2 recipes Whipped Cream (page 436)
- Heat oven and sift flour Heat oven to 325F, with rack in lower third of oven.
- Use a fine sieve to sift together flour and 3/4 cup granulated sugar over a sheet of parchment paper or a bowl.
- Repeat sifting four times.
- Make meringue Beat egg whites in a large, wide bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until foamy; add salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla.
- Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- With mixer running, add remaining 3/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating no more than 1 minute after each.
- Raise speed to medium-high and beat until stiff glossy peaks form (when beater is lifted, only the tip of the peak should fall over slightly).
- Fold flour into meringue Sift flour mixture over meringue in six parts, gently folding in each addition with a flexible spatula.
- Be careful not to overmix or the egg whites will deflate.
- Bake and cool Scrape batter into a 10-inch angel-food pan (or tube pan).
- Run a knife through the batter to release any large air bubbles, and smooth with an offset spatula.
- Bake until cake is golden brown and springy to the touch, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Invert pan onto its legs (if using an angel-food pan) or a wire rack, and let cool about 1 1/2 hours.
- Carefully run a paring knife around side of cake to loosen, then turn out onto the rack.
- Serve Place the cake on a serving platter and surround with berries; dust with confectioners sugar.
- Slice cake with a comb cutter or serrated knife; serve slices with berries and whipped cream.
- Cake will keep up to 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped well in plastic.
- One way to put yolks to good use is to make lemon curd (page 477) to serve with angel food cake.
- For a savory alternative, use extra egg yolks to prepare mayonnaise (page 95) or hollandaise sauce (page 96).
- If youre not planning to use raw egg yolks right away, refrigerate them up to three days in an airtight container, or freeze up to four months.
- When refrigerating yolks, press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
- To prevent them from becoming gelatinous when frozen, add 1/8 teaspoon salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (add salt to yolks intended for savory dishes and sugar to yolks for baked desserts) to each 1/4 cup of yolks (about four).
- Beat the yolks lightly before mixing in the salt and sugar, and freeze the mixture in an airtight container.
- Be sure to label the container with the date and number of yolks.
- When using them in a recipe, use 1 tablespoon of thawed yolk for each large yolk needed.
- If using a standing mixer, you will need to gently transfer meringue to a large, wide bowl before folding in the flour.
- Angel food cake pans have removable bottoms and legs for easy removal and cooling.
- A 10-inch tube pan can be used in its place.
- A comb cutter is the traditional tool for slicing angel food cake; it keeps the cake from flattening.
- If you dont have one, use a serrated knife and slice with a sawing motion.
cake flour, sugar, egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, vanilla, fresh raspberries, confectioners sugar, cream
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/angel-food-cake-393851 (may not work)