Angel Food Cake
- Makes one 10-inch cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 12 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°, with rack in lower third. Line the bottom of a 10-inch tube pan with parchment paper (pan should have a removable bottom). Sift flour and 1/2 cup sugar onto a piece of parchment; sift into a bowl. Set aside.
- Put egg whites into the bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining cup sugar (not longer than 1 minute). Raise speed to medium-high; beat until stiff peaks form.
- Carefully transfer egg white mixture to a large, wide bowl. Sprinkle one-third of the flour-sugar mixture over top. Using a spatula, gently fold in. Fold in remaining flour-sugar mixture in 3 batches. Transfer to prepared pan. Run a knife through batter to remove air bubbles.
- Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Set pan upside down on pan legs or over a narrow bottle; let cool completely.
- Reinvert cake. Run a knife around the edges of pan to loosen; lift cake out, and remove from base. Remove parchment. Cake can be stored, wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container, up to 2 days.
Source: Martha Stewart Living, February 2006, Page 163.