Angel Food Cake

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I am a big fan of social media, there I said it.  Not the squawking that takes place, instead, the community and relationship building.  The other thing I enjoy about it is the creativity that is born when provoked by one small snippet that you may see floating around out there.   The other day as I was enjoying my coffee and catching up, when I saw a tweet from Brandi, about an angel food cake recipe.  I have not thought about angel food cake in years.  When I want a quick dessert I may pick one up at the market.  Once Brandi planted that seed, the seed kept growing and I could not stop thinking about a heavenly slice of angel food cake.

I was suddenly taken back to a time when I was a little girl.  I remember my grandmother and my mother baking angel food cakes.  It came from a box, and there was a special pan, one with little legs that helped with cooling the freshly baked cake.  I remember the flour mixture and the sweet smell as it mixed and tripled in volume until finally, it oozed over the top of the mixing bowl.  I loved the warm sugar smell of the cake as it baked, and how the top slightly cracked.  I would anxiously peek into the oven waiting for it to be finished while being gently reminded “not to open the oven door”.  My favorite part was when the cake came out of the pan.  I would take my dirty little fingers and scoop out the crumbs that clung to the sides of the pan once the cake was removed from it.  Eagerly, I would nibble off the sugary and sticky sweetness.

Once I saw that tweet from Brandi and was taken back in time for that brief moment, I went to find the pan I had inherited.  I hadn’t used it in years as I thought making angel cake would be too labor intensive.  I had time today, and we were celebrating so it would be worth it.  Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand that was needed for my recipe;  eggs, cake flour, and sugar.  On a whim, I added lemon zest from one of the few lingering Meyer lemons.  Last minute I added vanilla bean paste as I love the little speckles of bean in baked goods.  Angel food cake is like heaven, it is as light as a cloud and as sweet as eternity.

This month we are celebrating by sharing this cake with you.  Chez Us has turned 6!  Six years of getting to know you, and of sharing our lives, memories and recipes.  While there have been ups and downs to blogging, in the end, it is something, we enjoy doing so we keep doing it.  We are blessed from the relationships that have formed near and far.  We enjoy reading your comments about how a recipe changed your life.  We enjoy getting emails telling us your children are now eating cauliflower because of a recipe we made for you.  Or maybe we wrote about a memory that touched us, and through social media, you stumbled upon that memory that really belonged to you.  Whatever the reasoning is for you being here, we thank you, and we hope to continue feeding you as long as we can continue cooking.

Thank you for joining us at the Chez Us table;  we love having you here.

Have you made this recipe?  Please share what recipes you are enjoying from our site with us – we’d love to see them.  Use the hashtag #chezuseats on social media channels, then we can pull a chair up to your virtual table and share with our friends.

Tools:

• Angel Food Cake Pan

Yield: 8 -10 servings

Angel Food Cake

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This recipe was inspired by numerous angel food cakes that Denise enjoyed with your grandmother. Light, airy and lightly lemon scented it makes the perfect dessert option year round.

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

• ** inspired by my grandmother and Alton Brown
• 2 cups superfine sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cake flour
• 12 egg whites at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• zest of one lemon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift 1 cup of the sugar with the salt and cake flour.

In a large mixing bowl add the egg whites, water, extract, and cream of tartar. Beat until foamy.

Slowly add the remaining 1 cup of sugar, beating at medium speed. Once you have medium peaks add the zest and beat for another 2 minutes at medium speed.

Sift in half of the flour mixture and gently fold into the mixture using a spatula.

Sift in the remaining flour mixture and fold until incorporated.

Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased angel food cake pan.

Bake for 35 minutes before testing with a toothpick. The toothpick should come out dry. If not bake for another 5 minutes.

Cool upside down on a cooling rack for at least an hour before removing from the pan.

Serve.

Eat.

Did you make this recipe?

Thank you for joining us at the Chez Us table. We truly love having you here.Have you made this recipe?  Please share what recipes you are enjoying from Chez Us. We would love to see and be able to share with our followers. Use the hashtag #chezuseats on your social media channels, then we can pull a chair up to your virtual table and share with our friends.

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