Take To The Skies With Angel Food Cake
Light, fluffy and delicious, tasting a great angel food cake can be a truly divine experience. Making this classic dessert is an essential skill for anyone interested in the baking and pastry arts. Fortunately, it takes only a few simple ingredients to create an exceptional angel food cake that brings people together for any occasion.
Follow these tips to prepare a cake that’s out of this world.
1. Get the ingredients right
While angel food cake is a straightforward dessert, it’s vital to have all the necessary ingredients in the correct proportions. Using cake flour is especially important. As The Kitchn explained, the difference between this type of flour and others is the lower protein content, which means it creates minimal gluten and results in the light structure you want in angel food.
You must also be sure to sift the flour and other dry ingredients, providing the aeration that will allow them to mix evenly into the batter. Whisk flour and powdered sugar together before combining them with wet ingredients.
2. Have your equipment ready
There are a few pieces of equipment that will make a big difference in achieving success with your cake, like a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Bon Appetit suggested using the mixer to beat together egg whites, cream of tartar and salt.
Continue beating at medium-high speed as you add granulated sugar to form a meringue. Then, add vanilla extract and lemon juice. Finally, sift in the dry ingredients one-third at a time, incorporating by beating at low speed.
That’s when the next essential piece of equipment comes into play. A 10-inch, nonstick tube pan will give you airy results that are perfect for your cake. After using a spatula to ensure all the ingredients are fully combined, move the batter into the ungreased pan.
Thoroughly combining the ingredients in your batter is a big part of making a great cake.3. Bake with care
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit while preparing the batter. After about 40 minutes, the cake should be puffed up and firm, with a golden color. Alton Brown advised you start testing for doneness at 35 minutes.Try poking the cake with your finger to see if it springs back into place and inserting a toothpick or wooden skewer to check if it comes out clean.
4. Allow time to cool
Any cake needs time to cool off after coming out of the oven, but angel food should rest upside down. As Serious Eats explained, setting the inverted pan on the cooling rack or a glass bottle will stretch out the crumb, giving your final product the perfect texture. Wait for about an hour before removing from the pan and serving with whipped cream and berries.
Angel food cake is a great dessert for beginning bakers, but it takes attention to the ingredients and techniques involved to achieve the right lightness and airiness. By preparing their own versions, culinary academy students develop important skills they’ll use time and again.
