Angel Food Cake

Well, Joe caught the flu, my bracket is destroyed, and Spring Break starts tomorrow. Which is normally a fun thing, but not with another sick kid and those nasty little germs just waiting to take down the rest of us!! Fingers crossed!! And at least when it comes to basketball, I can't possibly be the only one out there with a bracket in tatters. This year is NUTS!!

In honor of yet another bright and warm sunday following a cold snowy saturday, I present to you, homemade no less, the most classic summery cake ever. I hope you try it out, because I think there are few cakes that have made me so proud. And it's not as hard as you might think!!

Angel Food Cake 
Printable Recipe

1 ½ cup + 2 Tb cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
12 Egg Whites
1 ½ cups extra-fine sugar
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Divide sugar in half, setting aside ¾ cup of it, and combining the other ¾ cup and flour/salt mixture in a food processor. Process for 1 one minute to form a fine powder. Set aside.

With a stand mixer combine 12 egg whites and cream of tartar on low speed for one minute, until eggs become foamy and begin to peak.

Add the 3/4 cup of sugar, increase speed to medium-high and whisk until stiff peaks begin to form and the mixture looks smooth and shiny. Beat in vanilla and almond extract until just combined.

Sift the flour/sugar powder over the top of the egg whites in three separate additions. Gently fold the flour into the egg whites until combined. The batter will deflate a little bit, that's okay. Just be gentle!!

Pour the mixture into an non-greased tube pan or bundt cake pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool UPSIDE DOWN until COMPLETELY cool - about 2-3 hours. Set the pan over the neck of a wine bottle to hold steady as it cools, if not using an angel-food cake pan with prongs.

Run a knife or thin rubber spatula around the edge of the pan to release the cake from the pan.

I wasn't sure this would work in a regular bundt pan, but didn't it turn out pretty?? Homemade angel food cake is SO much yummier than storebought! And has a lots nicer texture too. As long as you are patient (whipping those whites and sifting in that flour just a teeny bit at a time) and gentle (carefully folding in that flour and not over-whipping the eggs) this cake is surprisingly simple! Oh, and remember the turning upside down thing. Nothing is more sad than baking a gorgeous cake... and not reading ahead... and watching it collapse in front of you. Yeah, that happened to me the first time. :)

Light as air, sweet and vanilla-y, fluffy as a cloud, fit for angels! My little angels, in this case. We had this cake for Stephen's birthday party a few months ago.

I can't wait to make it again this summer, with lots of fresh berries and whipped cream... Because honestly, that's the best way to eat angel food cake, isn't it??