About a quarter of a century ago, two of the most wonderful people in the world fell in love. As a result of this love, I was born 15 years ago. So, to me, this is a big deal. My parents' 26th wedding anniversary almost slipped away without me realizing it. I guess this week has been so hectic for everyone since we have had to adapt back to our every day lives after we came back from our trip. That being said, I had to come up with a plan to make my parents feel appreciated and special without making such a big deal about the fact that my brothers and I forgot about "the date." I flipped through the pages of one of my cook books and found a recipe for a Classic Angel Food Cake. Thankfully, I had all of the ingredients and it seemed fairly easy to make. I was hesitant on what the outcome might be, but when we sat down and finally cut the cake, the expression on my mom's face was priceless. She gave me a round of applause and said she loved it. I hope she didn't just say that since she's my mom and that's kind of her job, but I was happy with the outcome as well.
1 cup cake flour
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 large (1 1⁄3 to 1 1⁄2 cups) egg whites, at room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I added 1 more tsp, total of 3 tsp)
Directions:
Adjust oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 350°F. You'll need a 10-in. tube pan with removable bottom. Line bottom with nonstick foil, cutting to fit around the tube; place back into pan. (I used a big round pan and added aluminum foil at the bottom, topped with cooking spray and sprinkled flour on top)
Whisk together cake flour, 1⁄4 cup sugar and the salt; transfer mixture to a sieve set over a small bowl.
In large bowl, beat the egg whites with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes until frothy and well blended. Add the cream of tartar; increase speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks start to form, about 3 minutes. While still beating, add the remaining 1 cup sugar in a slow stream; continue to beat until whites are very thick and hold firm peaks when beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. (It will end up meringue-like)
Transfer mixture to a large, wide bowl. Sift 1⁄3 of the flour mixture over whites; fold in with a rubber spatula. Repeat twice with the remaining flour, folding in until incorporated. Scrape batter into pan and spread evenly. Run a knife through the batter to remove any air pockets.
Bake 35 minutes, or until top of cake springs back when pressed with fingertip or a skewer inserted into cake comes out clean. Immediately invert the pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely, upside down.
To loosen cake, run a knife around all sides of pan. Lift cake out of pan by tube. Loosen cake from bottom; invert to unmold.
Top with sifted powdered sugar before serving. Adding frosting or whipped cream and strawberries is also an option. The cake will be very sponge-like.
Recipe adapted from Woman's Day Guilt-Free Sweet Treats
Classic Angel Food Cake
Baking time: About 35 min at 350 degrees
Ingredients:
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