One of my favorite type of Cakes is Angel Food – specifically because I like Sponge Cakes and White Cakes and this one encompasses both.  My Husband loves Chocolate so in making the Chocolate Angel Food Cake we both get what we like.  Now the Chocolate Version of Angel Food Cake may not be ‘Chocolaty’ enough for the real Chocolate Lover but there are Add-Ons that can be used – for instance:

Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate Whipped Cream (or Ganache)

Make a trough by cutting out a portion of the cake from the top and filling it with Chocolate Ice Cream.  And so on and so on.  For the Recipe for Angel Food Cake and the variations thereof please go to the Recipe.

For making Angel Food Cake you will need a tube pan at least 9″ in diameter.  A Standing Mixer or a Portable Mixer.  The very first Angel Food I made was when I was 16 – I decided to make an Angel Food Cake for my Mother for Mother’s Day.  All we had was a hand Egg Beater, the old fashioned kind. All it had was teeth – no gears like the later models had.   It took me so long to beat the eggs that I ended up with a blister on my finger.  Well, it was worth it though.  (If I had known at the time about a Whisk that would probably have been a better choice but all we had was the Egg Beater.

A Rubber or Silicone Spatula will come in handy for folding the flour mixture into the beaten Egg Whites.

In addition a straight-edged spatula is good for loosening the sides of the cake from the pan.

 

In preparing the pan for the cake batter there is a variation from the norm in that the pan does not get greased or even lined with paper.  This is a ‘Sponge Cake’ and the cake sides need something to cling to as the cake rises.  If the pan is greased, the cake batter tends to slip down and you will end up with a heavy inedible cake.

 

The Cake calls for 1 cup Egg Whites (approx. 12 Whites from large eggs)  For a larger cake, use 1 1/2 cups of Egg Whites.  The pan that I used, could have held an 18 White Batter but then that would be too much cake for just the two of us.

If you do increase the number of Whites then of course you have to increase the rest of the ingredients accordingly.  1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of Cocoa, 2 1/4 cups of Sugar, etc.

Before starting to make the cake separate the Whites from the Yolks (while the eggs are cold – it is much easier to do when the eggs are cold) and then let the whites warm up to room temperature – about 1 hour.

 

Make sure your mixer bowl is super clean – any traces of oil or other particles will keep the whites from beating up properly.

Once all the ingredients are measured and ready to go set your oven rack at the lowest position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the Whites in the clean mixing bowl and then beat at high speed until they become foamy.  Add the Cream of Tartar, Salt and Vanilla and continue mixing until the Whites form soft peaks.  (If they are beaten too long, the cake will be too dry).  Once soft peaks are formed slowly add the Sugar while the mixer is going and continue to beat until the Whites will hold their shape when the beater is lifted.  If you are using a Standing Mixer this will not take very long.  An electric hand mixer will take a longer amount of time.

 

 

 

 

Once the Whites reach the desired consistency, (see photo above) remove from the mixer and with a rubber spatula,  fold in about 1/4 of the Flour/Cocoa mixture to ‘temper’ the Whites.  Then gently fold in the remaining dry ingredients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place in the tube pan being sure that the batter is evenly distributed throughout the pan.

 

 

 

 

Bake at the lowest position in the preheat (375 Degree) Oven for 45 minutes or until the top is dry and cracked.

 

 

 

Turn the pan upside down until completely cool.  If your pan does not have legs on it, place if over the neck of a wine or water or soda bottle.  Allow to cool completely.  Once the cake is cooled, loosen the sides with a straight-edged spatula and place on a serving plate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To slice the cake use a serrated knife (bread knife) or a sponge cake cutting device.  Serve plain or with Ice Cream and fresh sliced and sugared Berries, Whipped Cream and Chocolate Sauce