07 July 2011
My First Angel Food Cake!
Every year I pick some fabulous dessert to get or make for my boss' birthday. Usually lemon flavored or chocolate chip cookie inspired. Earlier this year I had seen a recipe for lemon angel food cake with blueberry gin sauce. I sat up and took notice...
You can find the recipe here: "Preserved Lemon Angel Food Cake with Blueberry Gin Sauce" on a wonderful blog I follow called Island Vittles.
This was exciting and a little nerve wracking because, despite the numerous batches of boozy cookies I make...I'm not much of a baker. I know, I have come up with some lovely desserts but I tend to thank the baking faeries for those successes. Maybe I should start thanking myself.
I am decidedly a savory food lover...maybe that's why I don't consider myself a baker...
I digress...
I have never made Angel Food cake before so I peppered Island Vittles herself with questions (she's a fan of Scotland and the Outlander books and she cooks! My kind of lady!) about mixer attachments and flour and sugar...she was very helpful!
Turns out I didn't need anything fancy, and thanks to my recent love of making my own hummus, I have a little food processor. I was all set!
I made the sauce the night before and reserved my free morning for slowly going through the angel food cake motions. For some reason, the thought of working with the egg whites filled me with fear. Instead, I found whipping them into a frothy frenzy really zen. There's something really satisfying about watching the transformation. I have the same feeling about making fresh whipped cream or custard...or cold cream!
In the end I wasn't so sure I had the texture right for the batter. It seemed a lot soupier than it should have been, but forged ahead and after numerous trips to check that it was rising, found my kitchen filled with the lovely aroma of Angel Food Cake! I had done it!
The most important thing I got out of making this cake was that it shook up my morning routine and reminded me how wonderful it can be to get up early and work in the kitchen. Time expanded for me as it tends to do when I switch off the TV, turn on my iPod and set to work in the kitchen. I was amazed at how much I accomplished and how good I felt after everything was baked and cooling and looking delicious.
Making this dessert was a collaboration in two ways...the recipe from Island Vittles and I borrowed a tube pan from my friend, and co-worker, Heather. Fantastic!
I decided to make some fresh, lemon-laced whipped cream to go along with the cake and blueberry sauce
Our friend Glen obligingly had a second piece so I could photograph it...
It didn't last long...
Funny side story...
I had forgotten the powdered sugar for dusting the top of the cake on my kitchen table. So I resorted to buying a powdered doughnut and used the excess sugar topping. It wasn't as successful as I had hoped it would be. I'd had visions of the perfect, quick sprinkle...like magic faery dust. Instead it sort of stuck to the doughnut and sparsely flecked the top of the cake. Oh well. I get an "A" for effort...and had a snack for later. It turned out to be cream-filled (I hadn't checked the flavor, merely chose the snowiest top).
Peering inside the bakery bag and patting myself on the back for my creative solution...
XO