Happy Birthday Cake!

Someone just celebrated a birthday (hint: it was me!) and what's a birthday without cake? Matt likes to make my birthday cake every year so that I'm not making my own cake. I usually help out, since he's still a novice baker and I like to know what's going on. My mom used to make me an angel food cake every year for my birthday. It was the only cake she ever made from a mix, and it was because we were under the impression that making an angel food cake from scratch was too hard and complicated. Man, were we wrong! Anyway, a few years ago, a friend of hers gave her a recipe for angel food cake from scratch and convinced Mom that it was actually pretty easy. Mom has made it many times since then, and kept telling me how easy and delicious it is. But I've never done it. Until now.

The aftermath.

When Matt asked what kind of cake he was going to make me this year, I told him about the angel food cake and how Mom says it's so easy. He said he didn't think he'd every had angel food, but that he'd give it a shot if I separated the eggs for him. Done. And really, separating the eggs was the hardest part. The rest of it is pretty easy - make a meringue out of the egg whites, adding in some cream of tartar to stabilize the egg whites and some sugar and vanilla for flavor, and then fold in some flour and more sugar. Easy peasy.

Best husband ever!

The recipe recommends sifting the dry ingredients onto wax paper and then using the wax paper to kind of funnel the dry stuff into the meringue, and this was very easy. It helped with controlling the amount of flour or sugar added at a time (since you want to add them gradually), and made clean-up pretty easy. Really, separating the eggs was the hardest part of this recipe.

Filling the pan.

 The recipe calls for room temperature egg whites, but America's Test Kitchen (the folks behind Cook's Illustrated) say that the temperature doesn't matter so much as the way the whites are beaten. They say to on a lower speed til the egg whites are frothy, and then add the cream of tartar and salt, then turn up the mixer to medium speed until soft peaks form. Then add in the sugar gradually. We were on a bit of a time crunch in making the cake (had to get to dinner on time!), so I figured I'd try using cold eggs and beat them the way the the Test Kitchen recommends. Our cake came out nice and fluffy, and the eggs beat up well, so I don't think that waiting for them to warm is really necessary. Since the cake depends so heavily on the eggs, fresher eggs will yield a much better cake than older ones. And what to do with the leftover egg yolks? Make some ice cream!

Cooling upside down helps keep its volume.

And it is so good! It's just as fluffy as the kind from the box, and the flavor is even more delicious. If only I'd been eating this my entire life! We ate ours with some ice cream (alas, not home-made) after going out to dinner at a restaurant we've been meaning to try. All in all, this is one happy birthday girl!

YUM!! I wish you were here to taste how good this is, but I kind of want to eat it all.

Angel Food Cake
From: Karen Tinker (with some adjustments based on the America's Test Kitchen people)

1 cup sifted cake flour
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups egg whites (from 12 large eggs)
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour and 3/4 cup sugar together on piece of wax paper. Set aside. Sift cream of tartar and salt together on a separate piece of wax paper.

In large bowl, beat egg whites at low speed until just broken up and they begin to become frothy. Add cream of tartar and salt, beat at medium speed until very soft peaks form. With mixer at medium speed, add 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, until all sugar is added and whites are shiny and form soft peaks. Add vanilla, beat til blended.

Fold flour-sugar mixture into egg whites using a large rubber spatula, 3 tablespoons at a time. Gently scrape batter into ungreased, 9-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and place in oven. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and the top springs back when pressed firmly.

Let cool upside down.  Cut with serrated knife, and enjoy!