January 26, 2012

SoNo Vanilla Angel Food Cake

This was the book that I received in the mail last week. There are some really good looking recipes in this book, and I can't wait to try them.
First out of the gate is something not chocolate for a change, and instead, something light and airy. I have never made an angel food cake, so I thought it would be fun to give it a try. I remember having a friend ages ago, that told me that all the babies in her family would have an angel food cake for their first birthday. I thought this was such a sweet tradition, and I always think about angel food cake in that context now. I also love how versatile it can be with different toppings to pair with it. I saw a blogger "frost" it with whipped cream that had lemon curd folded into it. I'm not sure what I will top it with, but strawberries and chocolate sound good.....shoot there I go again, with the chocolate. It isn't dessert unless some chocolate is involved!
Just got a heck of a deal on this angel food pan at Sur La Table. They are having a sale on their pans.
Separating 12 eggs can be a bit nerve wracking, but fun too. Can you crack an egg with one hand and empty the contents with out shells in it? I can :) , but when you have to separate 12 eggs, with not a trace of yolk or anything else, you have to be a bit more meticulous.
As I cracked the next to the last one, very carefully I might add, it literally just flopped out on to the counter before I could get it in the separator!!! I had to fetch another one, but then I had to get the white at room temperature. A quick search on the internet, said if I put the whites in a bowl, then set that bowl in warm water for 5 to 10 min., I would be good to go.
This recipe was a bit different than others I saw in other books and on tinternet. It required you to put all the whites, the sugar and other ingredients into a double boiler. This kinda made me nervous, but I managed to get it to the next step without cooking the whites....Phew!!
Cooling in this position for an hour...... Resulted in the cake below! ( I clicked on something below that will not let me type below this picture, so I'll close here. Hope everyone has a great weekend!)

9 comments:

  1. See...I could never do that. Ever. Recipes scare me and I am too impatient to go through the proper steps. Beautiful cake! I bet it tasted heavenly...get it?

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  2. Wished I lived right next door to you - would offer my services as a taste tester.....

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  3. The cake looks lovely, and I am sure by now you have cut into it, is it ethereal? The tip about bringing the egg whites up to room temperature by placing the bowl in a warm water bath is fabulous. The have been so many times when I have been all set to bake and I retread the recipe one more time and I realize that everything needs to come up in temperature. I looked up the book and saw that the writer is the chef on Everday Baking/Martha Stewart. I never get to watch that, have you? is he any good on TV? I hear great reviews of his Contecticutt bakery. I wonder how difficult it is to actually run a bakery, day after day, year after year. If I go to the east coast, this summer, I am going to try to make it into his bakery. Thanks for the heads up on his book, and the tip on the egg whites. Carolina

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  4. Whoops - almost forgot to tell you ... I was on this Dutch person's blog, called "Too Cute", it is an awesome, cool, site, and I was looking at her favorite blogs list and you won't believe what I saw - Nicole's blog. I was sooo excited, it was like seeing " family". How is she doing in London? Any chance you might be able to wing it and go see her? If you do let me know, I just might want to crash your party and ride side saddle, maybe squeeze in a cool train ride and a visit to a handful of tea houses. We can dream, can't we? Carolina

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  5. Yummy yummy! Great photos! I love that egg separating spoon! :)

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  6. yum, yum, as usual. enjoy your weekend! happy baking!

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  7. Oooo one of my faves. Love it!

    Melinda

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  8. the cake turned out beautiful! i have been going through a cookbook fascination lately so i've really been enjoying blog posts about the cooking experiences of other bloggers. my parents gave me one for christmas which sparked an interest in all of the ones i have sitting around. each one is full of so much potential fun, and they were just sitting there!

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  9. angel food is one of my favorites! although i've never made it from scratch before. how was it?

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