CLASSIC ANGEL FOOD CAKE RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• About 30 minutes before making the cake, place an egg separator over a small bowl. Crack each egg over the egg separator to separate the whites from the yolk. (save the yolks for another recipe.) Transfer egg whites to a 2-cup measuring cup until there are 1 1/2 cups of egg whites.
• Place the egg whites in a clean large bowl, and let stand at room temperature up to 30 minutes.*
• Move the oven rack to the lowest position; remove other oven rack. Heat the oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar and flour; set aside.
• Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture looks foamy. On high speed, beat in the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time; add the vanilla, almond extract and salt with the last addition of sugar. Continue beating until meringue is stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat.
• Sprinkle the powdered sugar-flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, over the meringue; to fold in, use a rubber spatula to cut down vertically through the batter, then slide the spatula across the bottom of the bowl and up the side just until sugar-flour mixture disappears. When all sugar-flour mixture has been folded in, spoon the batter into an ungreased 10x4-inch angel food (tube) cake pan. Using a metal spatula or knife, gently cut through the batter, spreading batter gently against side of pan and tube, to break large air pockets.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks in cake feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pan upside down onto a heatproof funnel or bottle. Let cake hang about 2 hours or until completely cool.
• Remove pan from funnel. Loosen the cake by running a knife or long metal spatula between the cake and side of pan. Place a serving plate upside down on pan; turn plate and pan over together and remove pan. (If pan has a removable bottom, remove side of pan, then carefully run a knife or long metal spatula between cake and pan bottom. Carefully remove bottom.) To cut cake, use a long serrated knife in a sawing motion, or use an electric knife.

Steps:

• For the angel food cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the cake flour and salt in a medium bowl and sift together 5 times. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until frothy (lots of bubbles but still liquid and loose). Add the cream of tartar and beat on high until stiff, 4 to 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium low, slowly sprinkle in the sifted granulated sugar. Fold in the sifted flour mixture gently until it's all combined. Sprinkle the vanilla into the bowl and fold gently.
• Spoon the batter into an angel food or tube pan (preferably with cooling legs)--make sure there's no grease or butter in there! Smooth the top and bake until a wooden skewer stuck all the way to the bottom comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. (Don't open the oven while it's baking!)
• Carefully remove the cake from the oven and immediately invert it onto its cooling legs (see Cook's Note). Let the cake cool completely while upside-down.
• For the frosting: Beat the powdered sugar, butter and cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring as desired.
• Carefully remove the cake from the pan and transfer it to a cake plate upside-down, so that the end that was stuck to the bottom of the pan is now facing up.  Frost the cake all over.