Angel Food Cake with Yogurt & Three Berries.

There must be something in the name Angel Food Cake. Tonight I decided to try out making it from scratch for the first time, & after my experience, I think the name must come from the fact that only an absolute angel would make this from scratch. I might not have ventured had I known what I was getting into, but now that it is all said & done, I am glad I did.

What makes this so painstaking is the fact that it takes 30 minutes, literally, of beating the egg mixture with a hand mixer to achieve the "medium foamy peaks". Once you get past that step it is all smooth sailing, & if I had a KitchenAid Mixer, you probably wouldn't hear me complaining. But, I didn't, so I am. I am including pictures of the peaks so that you know what to look for. I was unsure the whole time if I would ever reach that stage or if I had botched it up some how, but waited it out anyhow. If you mix it they will come. So don't give up!

The results were delicious & quite rewarding after all the time & effort. I topped mine with raspberry yogurt & a mixture of three berries-plain & simple. I have seen recipes that add sugar & cream to yogurt but this would have overdone it for me since the cake is so sweet. Here is the recipe adapted from Alton Brown's.




Angel Food Cake with Yogurt & Three Berries
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cake flour
12 egg whites
1/3 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor spin sugar about 2 minutes until it is superfine. Sift half of the sugar with the salt the cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside.
In a large bowl, whisk thoroughly to combine egg whites, water, extracts, and cream of tartar. After 2 minutes, switch to a hand mixer. Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed. Once you have achieved medium peaks(30 min), sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.
Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased tube pan. Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).
Cool upside down on cooling rack for at least an hour before removing from pan.