Description
Heavenly angel food cake delights dessert enthusiasts with its cloud-like texture and delicate sweetness. Light, airy layers melt in your mouth, offering pure bliss for those craving a classic American bakery treat.
Ingredients
Scale
- 12 large egg whites (room temperature)
- 1.5 cups (300 g / 10.6 oz) granulated sugar (divided)
- 1 cup (120 g / 4.2 oz) cake flour (or all-purpose flour sifted with 2 tbsps cornstarch)
- 1.5 tsps cream of tartar
- 0.25 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsps vanilla extract
- 0.5 tsp almond extract (optional)
Instructions
- Oven Preparation: Position rack centrally and preheat to 350F (175C), keeping an ungreased tube pan at the ready.
- Flour Mixture: Sift cake flour with half the sugar meticulously, repeating the process three times to achieve an ultra-fine, uniform blend.
- Egg White Management: Allow egg whites to reach room temperature, transferring them to an immaculate mixing bowl, ensuring absolute yolk separation.
- Meringue Formation: Whip egg whites with cream of tartar and salt at medium speed, developing a foamy texture until soft peaks emerge.
- Sugar Integration: Incrementally add remaining sugar while whipping at high speed, transforming the mixture into glossy, rigid peaks that maintain structural integrity.
- Batter Composition: Delicately fold sifted flour-sugar blend into whipped whites using sweeping motions, preserving meringue’s airiness until no flour streaks remain visible.
- Pan Filling and Baking: Carefully transfer batter to tube pan, eliminating potential air pockets, and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and resilient to gentle touch.
- Cooling Protocol: Immediately invert pan after removing from oven, allowing complete cooling while suspended to maintain the cake’s signature volume and ethereal texture.
- Serving Preparation: Once cooled, detach cake from pan’s edges using a thin knife, revealing its cloud-like interior and preparing for elegant presentation.
Notes
- Egg White Precision: Ensure absolutely no yolk contamination when separating eggs, as fat prevents proper meringue formation and volume.
- Temperature Control: Allow egg whites to reach room temperature before whipping for maximum volume and stable peaks.
- Gentle Folding Technique: Use a delicate sweeping motion when incorporating flour to preserve the meringue’s delicate air bubbles, preventing cake deflation.
- Cooling Crucial Step: Immediately invert the pan after baking and cool completely suspended to maintain the cake’s signature light, airy texture and prevent collapse.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 100
- Sugar: 23 g
- Sodium: 50 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg