Lemon Angel Food Cake

So last week, I made Leche Flan. But what do you do with the leftover egg whites that you have when you bake up the Leche Flan? Make Angel Food Cake of course! Angel Food Cake has kind of received a bad rap over the years. I personally consider it as gross hospital food. Ha. 

The first time I ate Angel Food Cake was actually in a hospital. Ahhh, the excitement I felt when I saw a piece of cake to eat. But oh, the disappointment I felt when I took that first bite. Tasteless yet fluffy? You've got to be kidding me. I was deceived!

Now to tackle the Angel Food Cake on my own with Ina Garten's recipe of course! I haven't eaten hospital Angel Food Cake in years but I hope they've stepped their game up! Ha

Tips

-Listen to Alton Brown when he says you need a Tube Pan to bake Angel Food Cake. He was right when he said it will sink in the center if it's not.

-Don't use a Bundt Pan either. Supposedly, Angel Food Cake needs straight edges and the curviness of the Bundt Pan is a no, no.

Results

Taste: If a marshmallow was made into a cake, it would be Angel Food Cake. Taste exactly like marshmallows with a hint of lemon. 

Texture: Light and Fluffy

Lemon Angel Food Cake

Recipe by Ina Garten

Ingredients
2 cups sifted superfine sugar, divided
1 1/3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups egg whites, at room temperature (10 to 12 eggs)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine 1/2 cup of sugar with the flour and sift together 4 times. Set aside.

Place the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the eggs make medium-firm peaks, about 1 minute. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Whisk for a few minutes until thick and shiny. Whisk in the vanilla and lemon zest and continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 more minute. Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula. Continue adding the flour by fourths by sifting and folding until it's all incorporated.

Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes, until it springs back to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack until cool.

-Aaron John