Angel food cake is the lightest, airiest, floatiest sponge of all. It’s a cloud of a cake, a whisper of a dessert and mouthfuls of bliss.
What do angels eat?
Why is it called angel food cake? I suppose it’s difficult to imagine old archangel Gabriel tucking into a juicy, rare T-bone steak, or shovelling in platefuls of bangers and mash.
But take Michael on the other hand: he’s a big, strapping, sword-wielding lad (erm - archangel) with an enormous shield, and just look at the wings on him! It sure takes a couple of muscles to carry that pair around!
Without proper food down him, I seriously doubt he could find the strength to leads God's armies against Satan's forces elsewhere than up the garden path.
Michael aside though, angel food is, both in actual cake and in perception, airy-fairy, floaty, fluffy and insubstantial. It’s like eating cloud. Really sweet cloud.
But surprisingly, it can be sliced and layered, filled with cream and fruit and curd without fear of collapsing. What it is basically is a butterless, fatless, egg yolk-less sponge. Airy-fairy.
Air-lifted cake
When first testing the recipe from Joy of Baking, I was really worried that it wouldn’t hold.
Egg whites are beaten to a lovely stiff meringue, but seeing as there’s nothing else to hold it apart from a bit of cream of tartar, I thought it might rise sky-high in the oven and collapse in a heap when removed. No fear though: it holds great, better than a couple of genoises I’ve encountered.
The only downside - if it is a downside - is that you’re left with about a million egg yolks afterwards, so you have to very quickly bake a gateau Breton or make industrial quantities of mayo.
Do I need the special angel tin?
I’m afraid so: either the proper angel food cake tin with a removable bottom and chimney, or at least an aluminium ring tin. The inside surface is important: the batter needs to stick and cling to the sides in order to stay upright, so anything non-stick is definitely out.
And this amount of airy batter would probably collapse in the centre if there was no chimney to support it in the middle. So the answer is yes, invest in the tin if you want the cake. You won’t regret it though, I dare say.
How to make angel batter?
Eggs are easier to separate when cold, but beat better when at room temperature. I actually store mine outside the fridge, so separating needs a lot of care but then I can get onto the action straight away.
It is obviously similar to a meringue or at least starts like one. The egg whites are beaten with cream of tartar to keep them stable, and salt, ditto.
Half the sugar amount should be sifted with flour, or at least airily mixed together. The other half is gradually added to soft-peaked egg whites, by a spoonful, until a glossy, splendid meringue.
The flour and sugar mix needs to be folded gently and expertly, in order not to lose any of that glorious air in the batter. The flavourings can vary, from almond and vanilla extract to citrus juice and zest, or my favourite: rose water.
Once loaded into – ungreased! – tin, you can cut through it with a spatula to get rid of any hidden air pockets. We want air, but evenly distributed throughout.
Hang the angel
It bakes for about forty minutes and it’s fine to skewer it to test doneness.
The angel tin has those weird little legs which serve to prop the tin upside down when it’s out of the oven. But just to be safe, I usually support it on the central chimney, not willing to risk the middle, removable part dropping with half my cake.
How to serve angel food cake?
It is light, but might be a little bland all on its own. That’s why I consider it the perfect spring bake, because paired with pillows of whipped cream and luscious new season berries, it becomes divine. Fit for angels.
More airy sponge recipes
Genoise sponge cake with mascarpone and blueberry filling. The celebration gateau that is all about class, simplicity and sophistication. No wonder - genoise is after all the classic sponge recipe of the French patisserie.
Victorian Savoy cake, or biscuit de savoie, is the lightest butterless sponge cake. Fuller taste than angel food, more forgiving than genoise and far more sophisticated than a Victoria sponge.
Authentic Spanish recipe for tarta de Santiago, a traditional Galician almond cake or pie. Tarta or torta de Santiago has only three basic ingredients and is the most famous Spanish dessert.
More egg white based recipes
King Oscar II cake is also known as Swedish almond tart. It's an almond macaron style cake filled with almond buttercream, easy to make and absolutely delightful.
Cherry cream dacquoise is an exquisite gateau which is far easier to make than you’d think. Almond meringue dacquoise layers filled with fresh cream and homemade candied cherries – a riff on black forest gateau.
Raspberry meringue roulade: the perfect dessert recipe by Ottolenghi, with raspberries and whipped mascarpone cream filling, decorated with rose petals and pistachios. The meringue base can be baked a day ahead.