Chocolate
Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups
egg whites (about 12 large eggs)
3/4 cup sifted cake flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the
oven to 350 degrees (after step 1).
1.
Separate the eggs before heating the oven (see tips), adding the whites
to a liquid measuring cup until you have 1 1/2 cups. It will take about
12 large eggs.
2. Sift the flour before measuring. If you do not have a sifter, use
a whisk to fluff the flour before measuring. Add about half the sugar
to the flour and the cocoa and sift again.
3. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl, adding the salt and the cream
of tartar to the whites as soon as they become foamy. Continue beating.
As soft peaks begin to form, add the remaining sugar and extract. Beat
until peaks form.
4. Using a spatula, gently fold the flour, cocoa, and sugar mixture
into the egg white foam with “over and up” motions. Be sure
to scrape the bottom of the bowl for the flour mixture will sink. Mix
only until the flour is moistened. Working the batter longer tends to
drive the air bubbles from the foam and reduces the cake's volume.
5. Scrape the batter into a ten-inch tube pan and bake immediately.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is done.
6. When the cake is removed from the oven, immediately invert the tube
pan on the counter. Many tube pans have legs for this purpose. If the
tube pan does not have legs, invert the pan over a narrow-necked bottle
inserted into the tube.
