Chocolate Angel Food Cake
I love to bake but I need to watch my diet so I came up with a delicious cake that I don't feel guilty about at all.
I love to bake but I need to watch my diet so I came up with a delicious cake that I don't feel guilty about at all.
- Carbohydrate 34.384429169021 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 5.29496833746056 g
- Fiber 2.22888505597106 g
- Protein 8.89529333435114 g
- Saturated Fat 3.07020875255247 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (114g)
- Sodium 9372.28829340406 mg
- Sugar 32.15554411305 g
- Trans Fat 0.39583225018139 g
- Calories 212 calories
Step-by-step
- Sift flour and cocoa together three times; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Sprinkle with cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Blend in vanilla. Sift about a fourth of the flour mixture by fourths. Pour into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan.
- Bake at 325° for 1 hour. Turn off the oven, but let cake sit in the oven for 5 minutes. Removed from the oven and immediately invert pan; cool. Loosen sides of cake from pan and remove.
Beyond the Ingredients
The ingredient list provides measurements, but omits the physical state of those components. Egg whites whip best at room temperature because warmth reduces surface tension. Cold whites trap less air. Fine granulated sugar dissolves into the foam rapidly without weighing down the protein structure. Cake flour contains lower protein content than all-purpose flour, yielding a tender crumb that supports the cocoa solids.
The Critical Technique
Achieving structural height requires strict adherence to whipping stages. Beat the whites until soft peaks form before adding the cream of tartar. This acid stabilizes the egg foam. Add the sugar incrementally, roughly two tablespoons at a time, until stiff, glossy peaks appear. Folding the sifted flour and cocoa mixture in four separate batches prevents the delicate foam from deflating into liquid.
Storage and Freezing
Angel food cake handles freezing exceptionally well due to its low fat content. Wrap the completely cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Store the wrapped cake in the freezer for up to two months. Thaw the cake overnight at room temperature inside its wrapping to prevent moisture condensation on the crust. Avoid greasing the 10-inch tube pan, as the batter must cling to the metal walls to rise during baking.
