Monday, April 29, 2013

Homemade Angel Food Loaf



The other day I pinned a terrific little find, a recipe for Homemade Angel Food Cake Loaf.  I was so excited about this recipe!  I often gaze lovingly at those little loaves of angel food cake when I'm grocery shopping but the "cheap" in me just cannot fork out over $3 a pop for those little babies.

My husband's aunt used to make homemade angel food cake.  I have her recipe.  It seems deliciously exotic and a recipe only reserved for the professionals.  I have an angel food cake pan.  You know.. one of those tube pans with the legs that shoot out (because an angel food cake cools upside down in its pan, hovering in the air so that it doesn't loose is fluffiness.  Whew!  All of that seemed complicated to me. In fact, it was really one of those bucket list recipes that I was going to try, SOME DAY...

Well, fast forward to today (yesterday actually) when I read the recipe at a blog called Cooke's Frontier.  It didn't seem that difficult and the directions were terrific!  Considering I still have a full dozen eggs leftover from Easter that needed to be used pronto, I dove right in.

This little loaf cake turned out perfect and it has way more than any store bought loaf of angel food cake could ever offer!  It is moist and light, and... I could go on and on!  Was it hard?  No way!  I followed the directions on the blog and I had no problem.  It was simple. 

I did not change a thing about this recipe.  I made it exactly like Cooke's recipe, but I do want to save this recipe here on my blog and share it with anyone else who might like to try it. So I'm posting it!  But a big shout out THANK YOU to Cooke's Frontier for this terrific recipe.

Jump on in there and knock this one off of your bucket list.  You will no longer have to pay oodles for those little angel food cake loaves.  The options are endless with this little cake. Drizzle it with glaze, ladle on some fruit (I particularly like strawberries, canned mandarin oranges or peaches), or just eat by the hunk like I did last night.  One slice will not be enough!

Here's how I made Homemade Angel Food Loaf AT HOME MY WAY:

Angel Food Loaf
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 7 egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Line the bottom of a loaf pan with a piece of parchment, leaving the sides alone (I did not have any parchment and so I didn't use any.). Don't grease the pan,  not even the bottom.  (I used a metal pan which I think you need to use - do not use a glass loaf pan.) You want the angel food to climb up the side and have something to stick to.
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Sift together the flour and powdered sugar. Sift 3 more times and set aside. (I used a hand held strainer and just tapped the side of the strainer with my hand over a bowl to sift.) 
 
In another bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and vanilla until the whites begin to increase in bulk and look like foam.
 
 
 
Beat in 1/4 of the sugar at a time and continue to beat until the egg whites will hold a soft peak. They should still be glossy and not look dry.
 
 
 
Sprinkle 1/3 of the dry mixture over the egg whites and gently fold it in (do not use the mixer at this point - but fold using a spoon). Repeat 2 more times until all of the dry mixture has been folded into the egg whites.
 
 
(I'm folding in this picture.)
 
 
Scoop into your loaf pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. (Mine took 25 minutes.) The cake will be golden brown.
 


 Leave the cake in the loaf pan and turn it upside-down on a cooling rack to cool completely.

 
 
Once the cake/pan was completely cool, I used a knife to poke around (slide the knife) along the edge of the pan to loosen the cake from the sides.  Then I used a long fork to slightly life the cake bottom up by poking the fork down along the sides of the pan.
 
 
It came out fine, I think.
 
 
 
 
I flipped it over and here it is.  I couldn't wait to try it!  (Remember that slicing works best with an electric knife or serrated knife.)
 




Here's what I made with my Homemade Angel Food Loaf:



Strawberry shortcake with Homemade Whipped Cream


And.. what to do with all of those yolks, you ask?  Why, homemade pasta/noodles of course!

This recipe has been shared at:
 
Jam Hands




Blessed with Grace