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The History Of The Angel Food Cake
Angel food cake has a texture and appearance (and even some necessary equipment) that's entirely its own. It's sweetness and light, in dessert form. Yet it remains something of a kitchen curiosity. Where did it come from, and what accounts for its enduring appeal? As it turns out, this ethereal, cloud-like dessert is an American invention.
Meringue-based cakes and confections are enjoyed the world over, but this one is different. No one knows for sure when the first one was created, but according to Gabrielle Langholtz, author of "
America: The Cookbook;
" a sponge cake recipe in "The Kentucky Housewife" (published by Lettice Bryan in 1839) is the precursor to modern-day angel food cake. Similarly, "The Joy of Cooking" puts angel food in the category of "foam cakes," along with sponges and chiffons. These cakes all contain a high proportion of eggs relative to other ingredients. Beating the eggs or egg whites to a foamy consistency produces their delicate structure, and gives way to the signature high rise (unlike baked goods that rely on leavening agents such as baking soda or powder).
It's worth noting that sponge cakes are made with whole eggs, and the batter for chiffon cakes (another American invention) includes vegetable oil as well. The fairest of them all, angel food cake features only the whites of the egg (usually as many as a dozen), and not a trace of butter or oil. Thus, the dessert is entirely fat-free, which helps explain its popularity among the calorie- and cholesterol-conscious. Look in any low-fat cookbook, and you're bound to find at least one angel food cake recipe among the dieters' delights.
Related: Sheet Cake Recipes For the Ultimate, Easy Crowd-Pleasing DessertLemon juice was once used to keep the beaten egg whites stiff, but today cream of tartar is the stabilizer of choice. Other than that, the cakes combine little more than sugar, flour, and a pinch of salt with those loftily beaten whites. Perhaps the most heavenly thing about angel food cake is how well it allows for riffs on the basic flavor. Vanilla is most common, but it's easily swapped out for citrus or other extracts. You can replace some of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder for a chocolate angel food cake, add ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to make a spice cake, or incorporate finely crushed peppermint candies to take it in a holiday direction. The key thing is to keep the flavor additions minimal enough that you don't deflate the meringue as you fold them in.
Though the ingredients list is generally short, instructions for making a proper angel food cake can be anything but. The master recipe in "The Fannie Farmer Cookbook" by Marion Cunningham runs nearly six pages, though admittedly much of that concerns the various methods used for whipping and folding the egg whites. For the best workout, you can use a traditional balloon whisk, but a modern electric mixer (handheld or standing) makes much lighter work. Interestingly, some food historians trace the widespread popularity of angel food cake to the advent of the rotary eggbeater in the mid- to late 19th century. What was once an arduous task became much more homemaker-friendly, and recipes began to appear in earnest. A recipe for angel food cake even appeared in The New York Times in 1880, and another for angel cake in the "Boston Cooking School Cook Book" in 1884.
Mike Krautter
A few pointers encourage success. Never grease your baking pan, or use anything nonstick—both inhibit a proper rise. Many recipes, including Martha's favorite recipes like the striking Pretty-in-Pink Angel Food Cake, require sifting the flour and some of the sugar together no fewer than four times before folding them into the meringue. This will feel excessive, but it's crucial to achieving the cloud-like texture.
Just as essential is the equipment. Real angel food aficionados use a straight-sided tube pan with "feet" on the bottom, which allow the cake to cool properly once it's inverted. (Clever bakers with ordinary tube pans have long made like MacGyver, simply placing the pan over the neck of wine bottle until the cake has cooled.)
Finally, consider the cut. Slicing through an angel food cake without causing it so squish can be impossible (a true letdown after all that work). A specialty cutter (sometimes called an angel food rake or comb) allows you to gently saw through the cake to make even slices—perfect for topping with fresh fruit and whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, dusting of powdered sugar, a drizzle of chocolate glaze, or perhaps best of all, a dollop of custard or curd made with leftover egg yolks.
How To Properly Store Angel Food Cake For Later
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Angel food cake is a light, fluffy dream of a dessert that has been an American classic for over 150 years. A quick glimpse at its ingredient list might give the impression that it's a simple bake: egg whites, flour, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. But anyone who's made it knows that time, practice, and technique are required. You need a well-tested angel food cake recipe and the ability to judge when your egg white peaks are just the right level of stiff. That is how you get the perfect result, golden on the outside and snowy white on the inside with a cloud-like texture that's soft and springy with a satisfying almost almond-like sweetness.
After all that work, you want to be able to savor your angel food cake in its peak condition for as long as possible, but how can you prolong that magical balance of moist and airy? The answer lies in knowing where to keep your cake, in what temperatures, and what materials to wrap it in. First things first: When you're going to store your angel food cake, wrap it up. Use foil or plastic wrap and really be sure to cover every spot. This keeps air out, which means that subtle stickiness won't dry out and throw off the cake's texture. Additionally, wherever you store the cake, make sure it's dry. If there's too much humidity in the air, any baked good will spoil more quickly.
Read more: 30 Types Of Cake, Explained
cake with berries and cream - Adela Srinivasan/Getty Images
Your wrapped angel food cake will last for up to two days at room temperature. If you're planning on serving it soon at a gathering where there won't be leftovers, counter-top or pantry storage will work just fine. If you'd like to keep the cake longer, you'll want to refrigerate it, which will preserve it for one week. It's crucial to note that you should refrigerate the cake even with plans to serve it within hours if you have incorporated any fruit or dairy items. The retro twist of adding a center layer of whipped cream is popular; if you add that, custard, or buttercream, definitely refrigerate.
That time rockets up to four to six months in the freezer. In fact, the cake will remain safe indefinitely, but peak quality is really within that range. Pro tip for freezing baked items: Wrap them in both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. The first layer of plastic wrap keeps moisture out, while the second layer of foil protects against things like freezer burn.
No matter where you keep your angel food cake and for how long, you should know how to spot spoilage. Any smells that just seem off are your first indicator that it's time to toss that cake. Beyond that, you might even see mold pop up. As soon as you feel a bit of staleness, the dessert is likely past its prime since angel food cake is all about its heavenly texture.
Read the original article on Tasting Table
Lost Italian: Simply Heavenly: Angel Food Cake A Labor Of Love
Today is Tony's birthday. He's very (very) low-key about birthdays, so let's just keep this between you and me.
I'm still going to bake him a cake though because it's his birthday and I love birthdays.
Ever since I've known him, Tony has mused that he was sent to me as an angel. In our 20-year marriage there have been days that have definitely put that theory to the test, but we're still married - to each other - so who knows? If Tony really is an angel, then there's only one dessert that can rise to this occasion: Angel Food Cake.
Most people shy away from making angel food cake from scratch, wrongly believing that they are not up to the task. Sifting flour and separating egg whites might be a little fussy, but I find that angel food cake is much easier to make than sponge cake. You just need the right equipment, a little advance preparation, and patience.
Before getting started, carefully review the recipe and prepare all of your ingredients and equipment. For this recipe, you will need a 10-inch tube pan, four inches deep, with a removable base. It is possible to make angel food cake without this special pan, but if you're going to take the time to make it from scratch, it's worth the investment (about $12 to $15 dollars).
If you need to buy a pan, look for one that is aluminum, not non-stick. Angel food is a foam cake which receives most of its body from egg whites, and it needs to be able to climb up the walls of the pan. I have used both types, and my grandmother's old aluminum pan produces a much higher cake than my non-stick version. Your pan should also have little legs which swing out from the side so that once you remove the cake from the oven the pan can stand upside down until completely cool.
After testing several different recipes over the years, my favorite is from the classic "Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook." I have my grandmother's copy from 1950, and the recipe differs from the one available today on the Betty Crocker website, which I have not made.
Betty doesn't call for superfine sugar in her recipe, but she does refer to angel food cake as "light as air ... Fluffy as a cloud," and I think superfine sugar makes all the difference. I make my own (per celebrity chef Alton Brown's advice) by blending the sugar in a food processor for two minutes.
Egg whites are the main ingredient in angel food cake, and they won't whip properly if there is any bit of yolk mixed in. As the sugar is being processed, separate the egg whites, one at a time, into a small bowl. Check to make sure there is no yolk, or shell, in the white before pouring into a measuring cup.
Sifting is the next step before combining the ingredients together, and you can use a sifter or a mesh sieve to mix the (sifted) cake flour and sugar together, three times. Don't skip this step, as the sifting will give the cake air and help it rise better.
To serve, we keep it simple with real whipped cream and fresh berries. While not difficult to make, angel food cake is a labor of love. If you use these tips and follow the recipe's instructions, the result should be a heavenly dessert for the angel in your life. Happy Birthday, Tony!
Home with the Lost Italian is a weekly column written by Sarah Nasello featuring recipes by her husband, Tony Nasello. The couple owns Sarello's restaurant in Moorhead and lives in Fargo with their 9-year-old son, Giovanni. Readers can reach them at dine@sarellos.Com . All previous recipes can be found at http://thelostitalian.Areavoices.Com
Betty Crocker's Angel Food Cake
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set out, but do not grease, a 10-inch tube pan, 4-inch deep.
Sift the cup of cake flour first, then sift it three times, with M, cups (200 grams) of the superfine sugar. Set aside.
Measure into a large mixing bowl the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, vanilla and almond extract. Beat with a wire whip on high until foamy, then gradually add the ¾ cups of superfine sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time.
Continue beating until the meringue holds stiff, straight peaks when the wire whip is pulled up. Sift the flour-sugar mixture, 3 tablespoons at a time, over the meringue. Use a rubber spatula to cut and fold the flour in gently, until it disappears each time.
Carefully push with rubber scraper into deep tube pan, and even up surface of batter. Pull a table knife gently through the batter, in widening circles, to break any air bubbles.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until cake is golden brown and no imprint remains when finger lightly touches top of cake. Immediately invert the cake and let hang until cold, or overnight.
To remove from pan, use a serrated or very sharp knife and gently scrape along the sides, and then the base. Serve with real whipped cream and fresh berries.
Adapted from the 1950 Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook
Sarah's Tips
Angel Food Cake with whipped cream and raspberries is shown. David Samson / The Forum
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