Hi Everyone! Happy Mother’s Day! A big shout out to all the Moms, Grandmas, Sisters, Aunts, Nieces, Daughters, and well heck, everyone out there. I hope that you all have a great day! Mother’s Day can be a bit tricky. It is ideally a day for all moms to relax and have fun. However, for most moms that entails cooking and entertaining their kids and/or grandkids and that means at least some work. But, I can tell you from my own perspective that it is a labor of love and we wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Recently, I decided to foray into dangerous territory. I decided to make a version of angel food cake using a couple of vintage recipes as guides. I say that this is dangerous because old recipes carry so much history and so many powerful memories that families are fiercely protective of their own versions. To even hint that you can make something that is just as good (or better) than grandma so-and-so or Aunt Whozit is asking for trouble. In my own family angel food cake is one of those recipes. My paternal grandma, Starcy, made legendary angel food cakes. I was never fortunate enough to try one of those cakes, but I have heard the stories of how wonderful they were. I do remember that my family hosted an auction when I was a teenager to assist an uncle’s wife and kids after he passed away. Some of the items auctioned were baked goods; including Grandma Goode’s angel food cake. I can’t remember exactly but I believe that it went for close to $100. Many of my cousins were involved in a bidding war for it. I wish that I had Grandma’s recipe to use but I was not lucky enough to end up with any of those. I’m not sure how much good it would do anyway because, like many cooks in years past, she did not use standard measuring cups or spoons. Likewise, she would use pinches and dashes and instructions would include mixing something until “it looks right”. I’m sure that many of you have experienced the same problem. I do have one of her smock aprons hanging in my kitchen for inspiration. Grandma Goode raised 10 kids in a 2-bedroom house on a small farm income. She knew how to stretch her groceries. The picture below shows my Grandma Starcy (on the right side with the glasses) along with her kids, kids-in-law and some of her grandkids. I love that little smirk that she has. You can tell that she is mighty proud of her family. My mom is in the middle of the picture with the sleeveless blouse. My grandpa is in the middle of that picture somewhere too. Poor guy was covered in a sea of children.
I have asked my dad about Grandma’s baking prowess. He says that she did not just bake one cake for the sake of baking a cake. She would spend a day baking enough to last the family for a few days. She had her own chickens, so angel food cake was a natural treat to make since it takes so many egg whites. I wonder what she did with all the yolks. Hmmmm. I will have to ask around about that. Maybe there is an awesome pound cake or custard recipe out there. Someday I hope to get the recipe for her sugar pie to share with you all. But that is a story for another day.
I tried out a few angel food recipes and this one was the best, I think. The method comes from a vintage cookbook that I got at an auction years ago. I must admit that I have made angel food cake from scratch before that turned out okay but not nearly as good as this one. I did not then use any of these tried and true measuring and mixing methods. I was skeptical, but they really do make a huge difference. This cake turns out really light and fluffy and TALL. The flavor is delightful with a hint of almond and a wonderful sweetness.
Put your eggs out on the counter a few hours ahead of time if possible to bring them to room temperature. When you are ready to start mixing your cake, sift some of the cake flour in a large bowl. You don’t need to measure at this step just sift. Now you should measure out 1 ¼ cups of the sifted flour being careful not to pack the flour into the measuring cup. Just scoop and level it off with your finger or a knife. Sift this flour 3 more times along with ½ cup of sugar. You will need 2 bowls for this. Just go back and forth between the bowls. Set aside.
Crack all the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. I am absolutely terrible at cracking eggs. I almost always get bits of shell in with the egg white or I break the yolk. I don’t know why. I have cracked thousands of eggs in my lifetime and still can’t get the hang of it. It is pathetic. My advice is to always crack the eggs into a small bowl one at a time so that if you mess up one (or six) you can just put them in the frig to make scrambled eggs. Anyway, crack the eggs and separate the whites and yolks. Add the whites to the bowl of a stand mixer or into a deep bowl if using a hand mixer. Beat the egg whites on high speed until they begin to foam. Add the salt, the almond extract, cream of tartar and vanilla. Continue beating on high speed until the whites form stiff peaks when you pull the beater out. Don’t beat them so long that they begin to look dried out.
Very gently, gradually fold 1 ⅓ cups of sugar and then the flour and sugar mixture. Do not overmix this. Just fold until all pockets of flour are gone.
Scoop this mixture into an angel food cake pan. Do not grease the pan before adding the batter. It should be clean and dry.
Bake the cake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until a skewer or thin knife inserted in the middle comes out with no wet batter. There should be moist crumbs but no raw batter.
Remove the pan from the oven and invert it until the cake has cooled. My mom always used an old soda bottle for this as you can see in this picture. I have seen some angel food cake pans that have little tabs at the top that turn into legs when it is turned upside down. That is pretty cool and would alleviate the need for the bottle. Honestly, I’m not even sure why you do this. Maybe someone can enlighten me on that. When the cake has cooled completely run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and around the center. Gently remove the cake from the pan. My pan has a removable bottom which makes this easier but if your pan does not have that you may need to tap it a little to get the cake to release. Just be patient and don’t force the issue or you will tear this beautiful cake.
Serve just like this or you can make a frosting or glaze if you prefer. Please note that you can change the flavor of this cake very easily. You can use a different flavoring (like orange, strawberry or cherry) instead of the almond extract. You can also use 3 Tablespoons of baking cocoa rather than the almond extract. Just sift the cocoa in with the flour and sugar.
Vintage Angel Food Cake
This is a vintage recipe. This cake turns out really light and fluffy and TALL. The flavor is delightful with a hint of almond and a wonderful sweetness.
Ingredients
- 15 medium egg whites
- 1 1/4 cup cake flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 heaping teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Step 2 Sift a couple of large scoops of the cake flour into a large bowl. No need to measure at this point. Just sift.
- Step 3 Measure out 1 1/4 cups of the sifted flour and return any leftover to the package for a later use.
- Step 4 Sift the 1 1/4 cups of flour with 1/2 cup of sugar 3 more times. You will need 2 bowls for this. Just go back and forth between the bowls. Set aside.
- Step 5 Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large, deep bowl if you are using a hand mixer.
- Step 6 Beat until they are just beginning to foam and add the salt, almond extract, cream of tartar and vanilla.
- Step 7 Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
- Step 8 Gradually and gently fold in the 1 1/3 cup of sugar.
- Step 9 Gradually and gently fold in the sifted flour/sugar mixture. Do not overmix.
- Step 10 Spoon this mixture into an angel food cake pan.
- Step 11 Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until only moist crumbs cling to an inserted skewer or table knife.
- Step 12 Remove from the oven and invert the pan on a bottle until completely cooled.
- Step 13 Carefully run a knife around the edges of the pan and remove to a serving plate. The bottom of the cake should now be the top.
