Angel Food Cake
This small angel food cake is airy, springy, and delicately sweet, with a tender crumb that almost melts on the tongue. Vanilla and lemon zest give it a clean, bright aroma while keeping the cake light enough for a low-fat dessert.
Ingredients
Cake batter
- 120 gegg whites
- 70 gcaster sugar
- 35 gcake flour
- 1/4 tspcream of tartar
- 1 pinchfine salt
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 1 tsplemon zest
For the tin
- a few drops for wiping the knife only, not the tinneutral oil
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 175 C. Use a small ungreased 12-14 cm tube pan or a mini angel food cake tin. Sift the cake flour twice, then sift it once more with 35 g of the caster sugar so it will fold in easily without deflating the foam.
- 2
Place the egg whites in a perfectly clean, grease-free bowl. Add the cream of tartar and salt, then whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Increase to medium-high and gradually rain in the remaining caster sugar over 1-2 minutes. Whip to glossy medium peaks: the tip should curl over softly, not stand stiff. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest just until combined.
- 3
Sprinkle one third of the flour-sugar mixture over the meringue and fold gently with a spatula, cutting down through the center and sweeping up from the bottom. Repeat twice more until no dry streaks remain. Fold only until incorporated; overmixing will knock out the air that gives the cake its height.
- 4
Spoon the batter into the ungreased tube pan and smooth the top lightly. Run a skewer through the batter to pop any large air pockets. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the top is golden and springs back when lightly touched, and a skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.
- 5
Immediately invert the pan onto its feet or over a bottle neck and cool completely for about 15 minutes. Cooling upside down prevents collapse while the structure sets.
- 6
Once cool, run a thin knife around the sides and center tube, wiping the blade with a trace of neutral oil if needed so it slides cleanly. Unmould carefully, slice with a serrated knife, and serve.
Nutrition per serving
Notes
- •Do not grease the pan; the batter must cling to the sides to rise properly.
- •If you do not have cake flour, use 30 g plain flour mixed with 5 g cornflour, then sift very well.
- •Egg whites whip best without any yolk contamination, and a metal or glass bowl is preferable to plastic.
- •Serve plain, with berries, or with a spoonful of lightly sweetened yogurt for a still low-fat finish.
Background
Angel food cake became popular in the United States in the 19th century, prized for its snowy white crumb and exceptionally light texture. Its rise depended on hand-whipped egg whites long before electric mixers made the cake easier to prepare at home. The classic tube pan also became closely associated with the cake because it helps the delicate batter bake evenly and climb high.
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