Homemade Angel Food Cake

Serves 10

If you love to bake but have never made an angel food cake, you really must try it. It really is very easy. Just be certain to have a large mixing bowl for beating the egg whites. You might want to plan ahead so you can use the yolks within several days in another preparation. Although you can purchase a decent angel food cake from many bakeries, nothing is quite as good as homemade. And I find that boxed angel food cake mixes require as much work as making one from scratch, so I would not bother with that. This delicious recipe came from a friend of my mother who lived in Pennsylvania.

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners' (powdered) sugar
• 1-1/2 cups egg whites (12 large eggs), room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tarter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease the bottom only of a 10-inch tube pan. Sift the granulated sugar and set aside. Sift together the flour and confectioners' sugar about 5 times. Set aside. Combine the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer, or whisk if you are really ambitious, until well blended. Continue beating and gradually add granulated sugar, beating until mixture stands in peaks but is not dry. Add the vanilla and almond extracts to the egg mixture and beat just until incorporated. Gently fold in the sifted flour mixture just until combined. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until top springs back to touch. Invert pan and set on neck of a bottle to cool completely before removing from the pan and serving.

Notes: If desired, the cake can be frosted. I love the chocolate whipped cream frosting that is in the similar and related recipes. For a lighter and equally delicious dessert, top with your favorite whole berries or fruit compote.