ANGEL FOOD POUND CAKE RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt or 10-inch angel food cake (tube) pan; set aside.
• Combine 2 cups sugar and butter in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extract; continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.
• Add flour and baking powder alternately with half & half, beating at low speed and scraping bowl often, after each addition .
• Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake 65-75 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over cake, if desired.
• Combine cranberries, 1 cup sugar and water in 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5-10 minutes or until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes or until cranberries pop. Cool 30 minutes. Stir in brandy. Place into bowl. Cover; refrigerate until serving time.
• Microwave sauce, just before serving, stirring once, 1-2 minutes or until warm.
• Spoon 2 tablespoons sauce over each serving of cake. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 16-cup tube pan with parchment paper (do not grease).
• In a medium bowl, sift the flour and ¾ cup of the sugar (place the remaining ¾ cup of sugar in a separate small bowl).
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or an electric hand beater), begin whisking the egg whites over medium-low speed. Add the cream of tartar and salt and whisk until the mixture is foamy (this process should take about 1 minute). Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and whip the egg white mixture to a puffy, frothy cloud-like texture (1 minute). Slowly add the ¾ cup of sugar that you had set aside—a heaping tablespoon at a time—until you achieve soft, glossy peaks (about 2 minutes). Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat until incorporated (20 to 30 seconds).
• Begin adding the sifted flour and sugar mixture to the whipped egg whites—about ¼ cup at a time—and use a rubber spatula to gently fold it into the egg whites. Repeat until all the flour/sugar is incorporated.
• Spoon the batter into your prepared tube pan. Swirl a butter knife through the batter to help pop/release any air bubbles and then smooth the top of the cake with a rubber spatula. Bake until the top is golden brown and the cake springs back when you press a finger into the top, 52 to 55 minutes.
• Invert the tube pan onto your countertop (especially easy to do if the tube pan has prongs or “feet” on the sides) or onto a wire cooling rack and let cool completely upside down (to prevent deflating). Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake and then remove it from the pan, peeling off the bottom layer of parchment paper.
• Serve slices of angel food cake with sweetened whipped cream and chopped strawberries.