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Angel Food Cake, an Airy Bed for Summer Fruit
Not long ago, I was at a dinner party at which the host served angel food cake with berries for dessert. “I always buy angel food cake when I entertain,” he told me. “It’s so light, and you can serve anything with it.” And, I think, he liked having the leftovers to snack on during the week.
My friend’s store-bought cake was a bit dry and very sweet, but he had the right idea. Angel food cake is a wonderful vehicle for fruit, especially juicy summer fruit. It’s lighter than other cakes, with no fat at all, not even on the sides of the pan; the cake won’t rise properly if the pan is greased.
I was inspired to revisit this airy classic, pairing it with a fragrant and beautiful stone-fruit salad at my last dinner party. I tossed nectarines and plums with honey, sugar, lemon juice and a little lemon thyme, and spooned the juicy mixture over and to the side of the simple white cake.
Angel food is the ultimate foam cake. It is all about egg whites — lots of them, beaten to a soft meringue with sugar, cream of tartar, lemon juice, water, vanilla and almond extracts, and gently folded together with cake flour and more sugar.
The key to success is not overbeating the egg whites, which means you should never go above medium speed on your mixer, and the peaks should fold over when you lift them with a spatula or beaters. If the meringue is too stiff, the cake will not maintain its height once baked. You should be able to pour the batter into the pan.
Give it the full 40 minutes in the oven and avoid the urge to peek while it’s baking; curiosity really can kill this delicate cake.
Recipes: Angel Food Cake With Nectarines and Plums | Ways to Use the Egg Yolks
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