angel food cake

ingredients
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/4 cups sifted pure icing sugar

1 1/2 cups (12) egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla*
1/4 teaspoon almond extract*
1 cup granulated sugar

Assemble all ingredients, use standard measuring utensils and measure accurately.
*available at The Bay Tree

> angel food cake tin

> cuisipro measuring spoons

method - read carefully!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Do not grease the tin!

Sift flour & icing sugar three times. Beat egg whiteswith cream of tartar, salt, vanilla & almond extract until stiff enough to hold soft peaks but still moist & glossy. Beat in the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, continuing to beat until the merengue holds stiff peaks. Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over the merengue; fold in lightlywith down-up-over motion, turning the bowl as you go. Fold in remaining flour by fourths

Bake in an ungreased 10 inch angel food mould in moderate at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or till done. Invert pan, cool thoroughly

To serve - spoon over strawberries and an avalanche of whipped cream!

> copper egg white bowl

troubleshooting for angel food cakes

Angel food cakes are leavened with just air. Whether or not you get a light tender cake depends on how much you beat the egg whites, the lightness with which youu fold in the mixture, and the temperature at which you bake the cake.

tough cake:
oven too hot, not enough sugar, overmixing
coarse texture:
underbeaten egg whites, insufficinet blending of ingredients, too slow an oven
heavy sticky layer at base:
insufficient mixing of egg with other ingredients
cracks in crust:
overbeaten egg whites; too much sugar; too hot an oven
sticky crust:
too much sugar; underbaking
undesized cake:
underbeaten or overbeaten egg whites; overmixing; too large a pan; too hot an oven
cake falls away from pan: tin has been greased; insufficent baking

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