Angel Food Cake is probably the lightest and airiest of all cakes. It’s great if you don’t want to serve a heavy dessert following a heavy meal. It’s also quite easy to make, once you get past all the measuring and sifting. It does require an exacting procedure to get the best results. For a history of Angel Food Cake, click here.
Tips to Get a Perfect Angel Food Cake
- Make certain your egg whites are at room temperature and there is no speck of yolk.
- The mixing bowl and the tube pan must be scrupulously clean.
- Flour and sugar must be sifted several times.
- Carefully fold in the flour without breaking down the egg whites.
- Cool the cake upside down.
- Cut the cake gently with a serrated knife.
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Place a rack in the lower part of the oven, and preheat it to 350°. Make certain that the egg whites are at room temperature and that there are no spots of egg yolk.
In a food processor, process all the sugar for 2-3 minutes until it is superfine. You need for the sugar to be as fine as possible.
Make the sugar superfine.
Remove 1 cup of the sugar, and sift it into a small bowl to remove any hard elements.
Sift the sugar.
Place the cake flour and the salt in the bowl of the processor with the remaining sugar, and pulse the mixture several times until fully combined.
Sift the cake, salt, and sugar mixture three times into another bowl.
Sift the flour 3 times.
It’s said that it is best to use fresh eggs. Because I make so many dishes using egg yolks, I have a surfeit of egg whites that I freeze in jars. I’ve found that frozen egg whites still work, but I add about an extra quarter cup of whites to compensate for any lost volume.
Place the room-temperature egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in the warm water, the vanilla, and the almond extract. I prefer a strong almond flavor for my Angel Food Cake. Alter the amount to suit your taste.
With the whip attachment, beat the egg-white mixture on a medium-low speed until it begins to foam.
Whip the egg whites until foamy.
Sift in the cream of tartar, and increase the speed to medium. While beating, sprinkle on the 1 cup of sugar a tablespoon at a time, continuing to beat until soft peaks are formed, about 5 minutes. Increase the speed to high, and whip until the egg whites are shiny and rather stiff peaks are formed, about another minute or two. Do not over beat.
Beat the egg whites until glossy.
The beating of the whites is extremely important because it is the only rising agent.
Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. Sift 1⁄3 of the flour mixture over the egg whites.
Sift the flour into the egg whites.
Gently fold in the flour with a rubber spatula, using a J-then-fold motion.
Fold in the flour.
Continue doing the same with another 1⁄3 of the flour mixture. Finally, add the last 1⁄3 of the flour mixture, and fold in gently without breaking down the volume of the egg whites.
Scrape the batter into a scrupulously clean 10-inch tube pan. Run a thin-bladed knife through the batter, then knock the pan gently against your counter a couple of times to remove any air pockets.
Remove any air pockets.
Bake in the oven for about 45-minutes until the cake is fully risen and lightly browned.
Bake until lightly browned.
Do not open the oven door for the first half hour of baking.
Remove the cake from the oven, and turn the pan upside down to rest on the little feet of the pan for at least 1 hour.
Cool the cake upside down.
When cool, invert the pan right-side up. Run a thin-bladed knife carefully around the sides of the pan and along the tube.
Loosen the cake with a knife.
Remove the Angel Food Cake from the pan and loosen the bottom with your knife. Invert the cake onto a cake platter so that the bottom is now the top.
Cut the cake gently with a serrated knife, without applying pressure.
Serve the cake plain or with berries and/or whipped cream.
