Gateaux Ange

I have made this Angel Cake quite a few times.  It always turns out very light and fluffy, with a very fine crumb.  Makes a nice light dessert offering after a summer meal.  Serve with fresh cream and berries.

You can use your stand mixer to whip the egg whites but half the fun of this cake is hand beating the egg whites to stiff peaks.  A nice kitchen work out for the upper body!  The recipe calls for a spring form pan but I usually use a smaller tube pan without grease, letting the cake climb up the sides of the pan for support like an angel food cake.

This cake benefits from using your electric convection oven to do the cooking.  You need to start off in a really hot oven to get the eggs to do the rising.  There is no baking powder in this recipe, so you are relying on the air you have beaten into the eggs to help the rise as the egg cooks. I like to start mine at 400 F and then turn it back to 375 F at the ten minute mark like the recipe calls for.

When the cake tests done I cool it, inverted on a large wine bottle for a couple of hours and slide a knife around the edges to release the cake from the tube pan.  Unlike a traditional Angel Food cake this one uses the egg yolks as well, making it denser than an AF cake but it still comes out very light.,

Thanks Laura Calder.  This one is a winner!

Angel Cake with Blackberries and White Currants

Courtesy of : Laura Calder

Preparation time :

15 minutes

Cooking time :

40 minutes

Yield :

10

A light-as-air cake from Laura Calder topped with fresh fruit, a perfect end to any meal.

Ingredients

• 6 unit eggs, separated
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sifted flour
•  unit blackberries, for serving
•  unit white currants, for serving
•  unit whipped cream, crème fraîche, parfait, or ice cream, for serving

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Grease and line and 9-inch/23 cm spring-form pan.
2. Beat the whites to stiff peaks. Beat in the yolks, one by one. Continuing to beat, add the sugar and vanilla, and finally the flour. You should have a very high, mousse-like batter.
3. Pour the batter into the pan and bake until golden on top, risen high, and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Be sure it is fully cooked when you take it out – it is a big cake. Let the cake cool 15 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan and let cool completely. Transfer to a serving platter.
4. Cover with blackberries and white currants. Serve with whipped cream, crème fraîche, parfait, or ice cream.