Angel Food Cake from Phillis Pellman Good
Angel food cakes are not an extravagance on a farm where eggs are plentiful. In fact, the cake was often baked on the same day as noodles were made. Noodles required the yolks; angel food cakes the egg whites.
An experienced cook, who learned to bake the delicacy as a 14-yearold, says that the cake turns out best if the eggs are beaten by hand rather than with an electric mixer. “If you beat the eggs too fast, the foam goes down. I always used a wire whisk at home.”
This light, mildly flavored cake is enhanced when crushed strawberries are served over it.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups cake flour
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2½ cups egg whites 18 eggs
- 3 Tbsp. water
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1½ tsp. cream of tartar
- 1½ tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Sift the flour.
- Add ¾ cup sugar and sift with flour three times.
- Set aside.
- Beat the egg whites with a rotary beater (not an electric mixer) until foamy.
- Add salt and cream of tartar.
- Continue beating until the whites hold peaks.
- Slowly add the rest of the sugar to the beaten egg whites, folding it in gently.
- Add the vanilla.
- Sift the flour and sugar mixture, a tablespoon at a time, over the beaten egg whites.
- Fold in lightly.
- Pour well blended mixture into a 12” x 14” ungreased tube pan.
- Bake at 350° for one hour.
- When finished, turn the cake upside down to cool.
- Frost with a butter icing if desired.
