Dan's Papers - May 9, 2008 - Silvia Lehrer's Cooking Column

My mom was a great baker but I didn't grow up baking anything, and certainly not an angel food cake. My mother's baking stemmed from her tradition and heritage. It consisted of a delicious challah every Friday night. Bread was not my food loving priority, and baking was not my forte in those early years. She baked a simple olive oil and honey cake and an occasional apple coffee cake, which I now make because my husband loves it. She made and baked her own phyllo dough wrapped around her Greek/Sephardic specialties - pita de spinaka (spinach) and pita de queso (cheese) and of course, baklava. I not only documented these recipes, I have prepared them with my children and even my young grandchildren. Thanks to store bought phyllo dough the legacy continues.

It's Mother's Day, a time to celebrate all mothers. They are angels, always there with a helping hand and motherly love. For this reason I will bake an angel food cake to honor the day. It's nice to know that an angel food cake has no fat at all. This is great news up to the point that the cake may be dressed with a cascade of whipped cream and berries. Basically an angel food cake is a baked meringue with flour, preferably cake flour for a lighter cake. Egg whites are beaten with an acid, such as cream of tartar to help increase volume, until firm but not dry peaks form. Egg whites can be beaten by hand with a balloon whisk in a copper bowl or in a bowl with electric beaters. Superfine sugar or confectioners sugar is preferred because they dissolve quickly. Desserts can be seasonal too. An angel food cake affords the light taste of spring. What's even better, you can make the cake days before you eat it.

"Make the cake in advance," writes Susan Purdy, author of Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too. "It can be wrapped up and stored for several days." Even if you made reservations for Mother's Day, treat her to your surprise do-ahead dessert, at home, on her special day.

ANGEL FOOD CAKE
Cake can be made in advance, wrapped airtight, and stored at room temperature for several days.
Yield: One 10-inch cake; 12 servings

1 cup sifted cake flour
1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 1/2 cups egg whites (10 to 12 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange, lemon, or almond extract (optional)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees.
Equipment: 10x4-inch angel food cake pan with raised "feet." Do not grease.

1. Sift the flour onto a sheet of wax paper, then resift it with the confectioners' sugar and salt. Sift the superfine sugar onto another sheet of wax paper, then transfer it to a cup.

2. In a large grease-free bowl, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whip whites until foamy. Gradually add the superfine sugar, and whip until the whites are nearly stiff but not dry. They should look glossy and satiny smooth, and you should be able to invert the bowl without having the mass of white move or slide. Sprinkle the vanilla and one of the other extracts, if using, over the beaten whites and whisk once or twice by hand to blend.

3. Using a rubber spatula or flat whisk, fold in the flour mixture about 3 tablespoons at a time. Sprinkle the dry mixture lightly over the whites, or sift it on, and then fold with a light touch. Cut down through the center of the whites to the bottom of the bowl, then turn the spatula as you bring it back up while giving the bowl a quarter turn. Repeat until the dry ingredients are just barely incorporated. Do not stir the batter.

4. Very gently turn the batter into the ungreased tube pan, and smooth the top lightly. Cut down through the batter one time with the spatula to be sure there are no large air pockets. Immediately place the cake in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, or until well risen and golden on top, and a cake tester, such as a bamboo skewer, comes out clean.

5. As soon as the cake is baked, invert the cake pan onto its raised feet or hang the pan upside down over the neck of a bottle or funnel. Allow the cake to hang upside down for several hours (or overnight) until completely cool.

6. Slide the blade of a long thin knife between the cake and the pan sides, and center tube, to loosen it. Top the cake with a plate, invert, and lift off the pan. (If pan has removable bottom, remove the sides first, then slide the knife between the pan bottom and cake to release it.) Invert cake onto a serving plate. Cut with a serrated knife to serve.

Author Susan Purdy suggests adding ground nuts such as toasted hazelnuts or almonds to the flour mixture for a nut angel cake. Or add 1 teaspoon orange extract and the grated zest of 2 oranges to toss with the flour/sugar mixture for folding into the batter.

Adapted from Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too, by Susan Purdy, William Morrow, 1993

RASPBERRY SAUCE WITH PRESERVES
With this recipe, I add my own touch to Susan's angel food cake. Prepare this simple and colorful sauce to puddle on a dish and top with cake slices.
Yield: 3/4 cup

1 package (12 ounces) frozen raspberries, thawed
1/4 cup raspberry preserves
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1-2 tablespoons Kirsch or Framboise

1. Drain raspberries in a sieve-lined bowl and set liquid aside.

2. Combine raspberries, 3 tablespoons drained liquid, raspberry preserves and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-12 minutes until slightly thickened. Strain through a food mill over a bowl, pressing down hard and scraping sides with a rubber spatula. Let cool thoroughly then add Kirsch and stir to mix. If necessary, stir some of the reserved juice by droplets into the sauce until desired consistency is reached.

3. Can be prepared up to one week ahead. Refrigerate, covered, in a suitable container until ready to use.

To serve: Puddle sauce equally on dessert-sized plates and sprinkle with confectioners sugar tapped through a sieve. With the point of a knife draw lines from the center to the edge of the plate to create a decorative effect. Center cake slices over the sauce.