baking

Angel Food Cake

Name: Angel Food Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 12 large egg whites, at room temperature; 1 cup cake flour, sifted twice; 1-1/2 cups superfine sugar, divided; 1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Angel food cake is leavened entirely by egg white foam. No yolks, no butter, no oil. Twelve or more egg whites are whipped with cream of tartar, which stabilizes the foam by lowering the pH and preventing the proteins from over-bonding, until stiff peaks form. Sugar is added gradually during whipping to dissolve into the whites. Cake flour and the remaining sugar are sifted and folded in by hand with minimal strokes. The batter goes into an ungreased tube pan: the foam must grip the dry walls of the pan as it bakes and expands, which is why greasing would cause the cake to collapse. The pan is inverted immediately on cooling because the structure is too fragile to support its own weight right side up while hot. The foam sets as it cools suspended. The result is extraordinarily light, slightly chewy at the edges, with a texture unlike any fat-containing cake. Egg whites are the ingredient, the leavening, and the structure, all at once.

Prep: 20 min Cook: 40 min Total: 60 min Serves: 12

Ingredients

12 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup cake flour, sifted twice
1-1/2 cups superfine sugar, divided
1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Do not grease the tube pan — the batter needs to cling to the sides to rise.
Sift the cake flour with 3/4 cup of the sugar three times. This is tedious but necessary for the lightest possible crumb.
In a large bowl, whip the egg whites with cream of tartar and salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase to medium-high and gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whipping until glossy, stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and almond extract at the end.
Sift one-third of the flour-sugar mixture over the meringue and fold gently with a large spatula. Repeat two more times. The batter should be voluminous and smooth.
Gently pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Run a knife through the batter once to release large air pockets.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and springs back when pressed gently.
Immediately invert the pan (most tube pans have feet for this) and let cool completely upside down, at least 1 hour. If the pan has no feet, invert it over the neck of a bottle.
Run a thin knife around the edges and center tube. Invert onto a plate. Serve plain or with whipped cream and berries.

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