I don't own a tube pan. I know. Weird.
But I do know how to borrow one. And how to break in said borrowed one for the friend who graciously loaned it to me. I'll put it on my list of things I want for Christmas.
Angel Food Cake is totes what I just made. And I've never. eaten. it. In my entire life. Did you know THAT?
Yet I'm making it. Even more weird.
Sometimes I'm crazy. Sometimes I make things I've never tried before. I'll say it. Say it to your face.
Strawberries get all sliced up...
*hand model provided by yours truly*
Strawberries and lemon sugar get mixed together to macerate. They're totally into that kind of thing.
Egg whites, water, vanilla, sugar, and cream of tartar get whipped into medium, glossy goodnight peaks. I'm sure that's the term.
Cake flour, salt, and more sugar are folded in.
Careful. Deflate not.
Goodness, me! Like a puffy, eggy cloud!
Can you believe this cake has zero fat? Totes!
Can you also believe that cake flour has little-to-no protein/gluten? If you're sensitive to the gluten, this is a wonderful thing to indulge in. I lie not.
My awesome timer. I'm a bit nerdy about it.
Look! You've got enough time to browse the interwebs. Just 45-50 minutes and you're golden.
... or rather, your cake will be golden. You smell what I'm bakin'.
Oh... you cool this thing upside down. I'm serious! Upside down.
I bet you always wondered why the middle of those tube pans were taller than the edges. Well, consider yourself schooled. Let's get you baking.
Angel Food Cake
Respectfully adapted from Joy the Baker
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cake flour, sifted
12 large egg whites, at room temperature (after separating, let them sit for at least a half hour)
1/3 cup warm water
1 tspn vanilla extract (or you can try your favorite flavoring, like orange or almond... get creative!)
1 1/2 tsps cream of tartar
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
4 tsps sugar
zest of 1 lemon
*place rack in center of oven; preheat to 350 degrees*
1. In your food processor with the blade attachment, grind down the sugar for 2 minutes. This pulverizes it so the egg whites can better attach themselves. Set aside half in a small bowl for later.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the remaining sugar, salt, and cake flour. Set aside.
3. In a standing mixer with the whisk attachment, beat together the egg whites, water, vanilla and cream of tartar on medium speed. You want them to be well blended and just starting to get frothy. Crank up the speed to medium-high, adding the sugar from the bowl slowly. Beat until you get medium peaks and trails form in the foam from your whisk attachment. Oh... and it should be glossy. Make sure to watch it - you don't want dry egg foam.
4. Remove the bowl from your mixer and fold in the flour mixture. (To fold: cut downwards with your spatula, sweeping underneath and following the side of the bowl upwards, bringing the underside of the foam over itself. Make quarter turns and do this until just combined, being careful not to over mix/deflate the foam.)
5. Spoon the foam into an ungreased tube pan. The foam needs something to "climb" on, which is the sides of the pan. It'll come out of the tube - promise.
6. Place on center rack in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Check at the 40 minute mark (since oven calibrations vary). Test with a wooden skewer to make sure it comes out squeaky clean. The top should be a deep golden color.
7. Now comes the fun part. Make room in your fridge for the cake. Place a rimmed cookie sheet in the fridge, and invert the cake upside down, so it is sitting on it's center tube. The cake won't fall out. It'll just... sit there. Wait at least an hour before removing from the fridge. Run the thinnest blade you have along the sides to remove from the pan. If you have a two-part tube pan (i.e. one that has a removable bottom), take the same knife, hold the center portion still, and slice along the metal to remove.
8. Cut into slices and serve with the lemon strawberries and cream.
