Angel Food Cake

Ingredients

  • 12 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 cup cake flour or all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Separate eggs and let stand at room temperature up to 30 minutes.
  2. Move the oven rack to the lowest position; remove other oven rack. Heat the oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar and flour; set aside.
  3. Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture looks foamy. On high speed, beat in the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time; add the vanilla, almond extract and salt with the last addition of sugar. Continue beating until meringue is stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat.
  4. Sprinkle the powdered sugar-flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, over the meringue; to fold in, use a rubber spatula to cut down vertically through the batter, then slide the spatula across the bottom of the bowl and up the side just until sugar-flour mixture disappears. When all sugar-flour mixture has been folded in, spoon the batter into an ungreased 10×4-inch angel food (tube) cake pan. Using a metal spatula or knife, gently cut through the batter, spreading batter gently against side of pan and tube, to break large air pockets.
  5. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks in cake feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pan upside down onto a heatproof funnel or bottle. Let cake hang about 2 hours or until completely cool (a beer bottle works really great here).
  6. Remove pan from funnel. Loosen the cake by running a knife or long metal spatula between the cake and side of pan. Place a serving plate upside down on pan; turn plate and pan over together and remove pan. (If pan has a removable bottom, remove side of pan, then carefully run a knife or long metal spatula between cake and pan bottom. Carefully remove bottom.) To cut cake, use a long serrated knife in a sawing motion, or use an electric knife.