Classic Angel Food Cake

A few weeks ago we celebrated my husband's birthday. I kept asking him what kind of cake or dessert he wanted for the special occasion and he would tell me, "nothing." HELLO! You can't have NOTHING to celebrate your birthday, it's a special day. Truth is my husband is not big on any celebration, be it Christmas, birthdays or whatever. I do, however, love to celebrate anything, especially when I can make something special to eat.

Since spring has been peaking around the corner the past little while, even though we woke up to snow flurries this morning, I wanted to do a dessert that was light, fresh and tasty. I immediately went to strawberries and lemon curd. I love, love, love lemon curd. I could totally eat it off the spoon, but that's beside the point. So I was thinking of a strawberry shortcake kind of deal and had to figure out what kind of base to put all that strawberry-lemony goodness on.

Angel food cake seemed perfect for the task. I had never made one but heard they were much better than store-bought versions. Plus, I had lots of egg whites in the freezer that needed to be used. The cake was actually really fun to make and I love how it came together. I baked mine in a bundt pan, although it calls for a tube pan, because that's what I had and, it turned out fine. I was a little leery when the directions said to bake in an UN-greased pan but I trusted and went with it. I think the trick is to let it cool enough that it all comes out in one piece.

This is the perfect cake for any spring dessert with lots of fruit and cream. It would even make a great trifle! Oh, and here's my favorite lemon curd recipe.

Classic Angel Food Cake
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
12 large egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract


Preheat oven to 325°.

To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and 3/4 cup sugar, stirring with a whisk.

Place egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla, juice, and almond extract. Sift 1/4 cup flour mixture over egg white mixture; fold in. Repeat with remaining flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time.

Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through the batter with a knife. Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert the cake onto a plate.

SOURCE: Cooking Light on myrecipes.com

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