Edna Lewiss Angel Food Cake Recipes

BLACK AND WHITE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with the flour and sift them together 4 times. Set aside.
• Place the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the eggs form medium-firm peaks, about 1 minute. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Beat on high speed for a few minutes until thick and shiny. Add the vanilla and continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 more minute. Scrape the beaten egg whites into a large bowl. Sift 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and fold it very carefully into the batter with a rubber spatula. Continue adding the flour in 3 equal additions, sifting and folding until it's all incorporated. Fold in the grated chocolate.
• Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and bake it for 35 to 45 minutes, until it springs back to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack. When cool, run a thin, flexible knife around the cake to remove it from the pan.
• For the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate chips and the heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate melts. Pour the chocolate over the top of the cooled cake to cover the top completely and allow it to drizzle down the sides. If you have chocolate glaze left over, you can serve it on the side with the cake.

FROSTED ANGEL FOOD CAKE

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.

EDNA LEWIS'S ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour and 3/4 cups sugar and sift twice onto wax paper or a plate. Set aside.
• Put egg whites into a large mixing bowl and beat on low speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar, salt, vanilla and 1 tablespoon water. Continue beating, gradually increasing speed until egg whites begin to increase in volume. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup sugar over whites 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until incorporated. Do not overbeat. Egg whites should be just firm enough to form soft peaks.
• Sift 1/4 of the reserved flour and sugar mixture over beaten whites and fold in. Repeat until entire mixture has been added, making sure each addition is fully incorporated into whites before adding more.
• Spoon batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Use a long spatula or butter knife to draw a deep line through center of batter following circumference of pan; this will release any large pockets of air.
• Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until cake is golden brown and springs back to the touch. Remove from oven and invert onto a plate; cool completely in pan. When cooled, use a long straight-edged spatula to loosen cake from sides of pan. Store tightly covered.

VERY GOOD CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl, pour the hot coffee over the chopped chocolate, and allow chocolate to melt completely.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together until well blended the eggs and vegetable oil, followed by the sour cream, vanilla, and coffee-chocolate mixture. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients by thirds, stirring well after each addition until completely blended.
• Divide the batter evenly between two buttered and floured parchment-lined 9-inch cake pans. Drop each cake pan once onto the counter from a height of 3 inches to remove any air pockets (these would cause holes or tunnels in the baked cake layers.)
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until the cake springs back slightly when gently tapped in the center OR when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove immediately to cooling racks, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before turning out of the pans. Allow cakes to cool completely before peeling off the parchment bottoms and frosting.
• Enjoy the most moist, rich, chocolate chocolate cake you'll ever eat!