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There’s a reason why this cake was named the food of the angels. Light as air and subtly sweet, it makes a perfect threesome with fresh fruit and whipped cream. Angel food cake is my birthday cake of choice. It rekindles memories of my mom baking it when I was a little girl. Also, it is mostly egg whites, so how bad can it be for me? There has to be something good about having that much protein for dessert.I made one significant change to the traditional recipe—I use honey instead of superfine sugar. With its more-intense flavour profile, I was able to cut the amount of sugar usually required in half. This cake has only six ingredients and is very easy to make, you just have to remember two things: sift the flour three times, and fold gently.
MAKES: 8 servings
PREP TIME: 25 minutes
BAKE TIME: 35–40 minutes
COOK TIME: 1 hour
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT NEEDED: flour sifter or fine-mesh sieve, tube cake pan, stand mixer with a whisk attachment or handheld mixer
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (250 mL) cake and pastry flour
- 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
- 12 egg whites
- 1 tsp (5 mL) cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup (185 mL) cane sugar, honey or maple syrup
- 2 tsp (10 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Sift flour with salt twice into a bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat egg whites on medium-high with the whisk attachment until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar and beat again on medium-high until soft peaks form, 2–3 minutes. While gradually drizzling in the honey, continue to beat until stiff peaks form, 3–4 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
4. Transfer to the widest bowl you have. Sift flour for the third time over the egg whites, in 2 additions, folding gently with a spatula after each addition until just combined. Don’t over-mix and deflate the airy goodness.
5. Gently spoon batter into a non-greased pan. Using a knife or barbecue skewer, cut through the batter to release any unwanted air bubbles.
6. Bake until golden and cake springs back when lightly pressed with fingers, 35–40 minutes.
7. Run a knife around the sides and bottom of the pan to help release the cake. Turn the pan upside-down onto a cooling rack for 1 hour, so the cake does not collapse onto itself.
8. Once cooled, wrap cake securely in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days, or up to a week in the fridge.