The recipe for the cake “Angel Food” was carefully hidden by the creators for a long time, until one day it was published by Letitia Brian in her cookbook in 1839, although it was simply called “White Biscuit”. He was nicknamed the angel cake by another cook known at that time - Isabella Stewart - forty years later in her book. The pastries had an almost white crumb, incredibly light with a delicate structure, not comparable to a regular biscuit. Since then, this dessert is recognized as the most delicious among all available.
Main characteristics
In fact, this is more of a biscuit than a cake, since the cream is not included in the main recipe, and the entire cooking process boils down to the proper preparation of the dough and its baking.
The first and main difference between the Angel Food cake and other biscuits is the complete absence of fats, therefore, despite the high sugar content, this dessert is considered dietary (258 kcal per hundred grams). What's the secret? The dough for the "angel" cake is made only from proteins, while in an ordinary biscuit the whole egg is used. It is this fact that makes the cake so special.
List of Essential Ingredients
Cake "Angel Food" with a diameter of 23-25 cm is prepared on the basis of the following proportions:
- ten egg proteins;
- three hundred grams of granulated sugar;
- two hundred grams of premium wheat flour;
- 1 tsp. without top salt and citric acid (which in the original recipe replaces tartar).
Potassium hydrotartrate (tartar simply) is rarely used in the post-Soviet territory, although it has an advantage over citric acid: it stabilizes the fluffy foam of proteins much better and prevents it from settling. The crystals of this substance are of organic origin: they appear on the walls of vessels in the process of making wine from grapes, if it is stored at temperatures below 10 degrees. If it is not possible to purchase this ingredient, then ordinary citric acid is used (not to be confused with lemon juice!).
How to cook the dough?
The step-by-step recipe for making the “Angel Food” cake is elementary: using a mixer at medium speed, beat the whites until the first foam appears, add citric acid and salt to them and continue the process. Every 10-16 seconds add 1 tbsp. l sugar, without stopping the mixer until 1/2 of the total amount of sand required by the recipe is used. Egg mass should increase in volume by at least four times and turn into a magnificent air cloud.
Next, the sugar residue must be combined with flour and lightly mixed with a blender. Divide the resulting dry mixture into two parts and add alternately to the protein mass, thoroughly mixing it with a wooden or silicone spoon. It is important not to delay the process so that the proteins do not settle.
How to bake an "angel" biscuit?
The original recipe for the cake “Angel Food” strictly states that the baking dish should never be greased with any kind of fat, otherwise the dough will not rise. In this case, you need to use the usual metal form. Traditionally, the cake is baked in the form with a hole in the middle (as for Christmas muffins), then the dough rises more evenly and is well baked inside.
If there is no hole in the middle, then the biscuit dough at the edges will rise higher, and the middle will have a dip and a denser texture. It is also necessary to cut out a circle of paper equal to the diameter of the bottom of the form, and place it there. Next, put the dough in a mold and place in an already heated oven. The temperature regime of baking is 160-170 degrees, the estimated time is 50 minutes. In no case should you open the oven door, otherwise the dough will settle, and the biscuit will be irreparably damaged. You can open the oven for the first time only when the upper part of the cake becomes rich golden, then stand for a few more minutes, and then take out the form.
Next stage
The second feature of cooking: the cake "Angel Food" is not immediately removed from the mold, as it can still settle and lose its airy structure. It should completely cool in it, while it is desirable to turn the form upside down and put the sides on a hill so that there is free space under it.
No need to worry that the biscuit will fall out: during the baking process, it sticks to the walls of the mold and holds tight. When at least three hours have passed, you can take out the cake. To do this, use a sharp knife to draw along the edge between the biscuit and the mold, and then, gently tapping on the bottom, put the baked workpiece on a dish and remove a circle of paper. Decorate to your liking and serve.
To help novice confectioners
Sometimes it is difficult to correctly calculate the proportions of the products needed to prepare a smaller or larger portion of the dish. This scheme will allow newcomers-cooks to fearlessly use these calculations to prepare a small cake, “Angel Food”:
- for a small cake (4 servings): three proteins, one hundred grams of sugar, 1/3 tsp each. citric acid and salt, 70 grams of flour.
- average size (6 servings): 5 proteins, one hundred grams of flour, 150 grams of sugar, 0.5 tsp each. salt and citric acid.
The proportions indicated in the main recipe are calculated on a large cake of 12 pieces.
A few recommendations from the masters
In most step-by-step recipes of the Angel Food cake, the cookbooks and website pages do not indicate the subtleties of working with such a delicate biscuit, so it often happens that part of the process goes well, and then a little miss - and all the trouble is worth it. Tips from professionals will help prevent mistakes and bring all stages of cake preparation to the ideal:
- All dishes should be perfectly clean and dry, even a drop of fat can ruin everything.
- Proteins should be at room temperature.
- When the biscuit in the mold cools, there should be no drafts in the room.
- The finished cake “Angel Food” is cut with a bread knife (with a serrated blade), as a regular knife will crush and tear too soft a crumb of a biscuit. Also, professionals use waxed thread to cut the cake into pieces.
- Silicone molds and with a Teflon (non-stick) coating are categorically not suitable for this type of biscuit, the dough does not rise in them as it should.
Does this cake need cream?
Initially, according to the recipe, the "angel" cake was poured with sweet sauce or icing, sometimes it was simply sprinkled with powdered sugar, but in modern cuisine it is often cut into layers and spread with creams and decorated with fruits. This is not entirely good, as the essence of the Angel Food cake is lost - airborne weightlessness, for which dessert was so named.
A few ideas for simple topcoats will help decorate an already stunning cake.
- Berry coolie: grind 250 grams of any berries with a blender, mix with 60-70 grams of sugar and boil over low heat until thickened. Then you can add a little instant gelatin (about 8 grams), or 15 grams of corn starch. The mass must be constantly stirred, avoiding knocked down lumps or sticking to the bottom of the dishes. Cool to room temperature and pour over the finished cake.
- Chocolate icing: mix three tbsp. tablespoons of cocoa powder and sugar, add 4 tbsp. tablespoons of milk and rub the mass thoroughly. Then send there 60 grams of melted butter and mix well again. Heat in a water bath until completely dissolved, stirring constantly. Pour the still warm icing onto the cake, smoothing it with a knife.
- “Royal Iceing” is ideally combined with this type of biscuit, as it emphasizes its lightness, rather than making it heavier, unlike a regular coating. Its peculiarity: this type of aising does not freeze, but remains soft and airy due to the addition of glycerin. To prepare, you need to beat one protein with 250 grams of powdered sugar into a stable foam and add 1/2 tsp at the end of the process. lemon juice and glycerin, beat for another 30 seconds and apply to the cake.
All these additives are good, but the “Food of Angels” cake in the photo looks great without them, moreover, the taste is completely independent of their availability, because the main emphasis of the dessert is precisely the airy biscuit.