Angel Food Cake

Prep Time:

Cook time:

Serves:

Description
Light, airy sponge-type cake made with stiffly beaten egg whites but no yolks or other fats. Normally baked in a tube pan (ring tin).

Ingredients

 * 10 egg whites
 * 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
 * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 * ½ teaspoon almond extract
 * 250 g (9 oz) caster sugar
 * 125 g (4½ oz) plain white flour, sifted

Directions

 * 1) Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4). Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until foamy. Sprinkle the cream of tartar and the vanilla and almond extracts over them and continue whisking until the mixture is stiff but not dry.
 * 2) Add ½ of the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking continuously: the mixture should be shiny and form soft peaks that bend over at the peaks; do not beat until stiff.
 * 3) Sift together 3 times the flour, remaining sugar and salt.
 * 4) Sift a fine layer(⅛ of total) of the flour mix over the egg mix.
 * 5) Fold in gently with a metal spoon until almost incorprated.
 * 6) Repeat, blending in the last addition until it is all incorporated.
 * 7) Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9 inch (23 cm) ring-shaped cake tin.
 * 8) Bake on the lowest shelf of the oven for +/- 45 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and he top is golden brown and feels dry.
 * 9) To cool the cake, leave it in the tin and turn it upside-down, leave it to cool for at least 1 hour 30 minutes.
 * 10) To take the cake out of the tin, run a knife around its outside and turn it upside-down onto a plate (if you do not have a ring-tin one, use a round cake tin and put an empty can upside-down in the centre to make the hole.  When cooling the cake support the cake tin and the the empty can, on a jar so that the cake is not resting on anything and can ‘stretch’ downwards).