Cooking in KC: Anna Belle's Angel Food Cake

This might be the most important recipe I share with you. I’ve already written about both of my grandmothers (here and here), but this recipe is the one truly at the heart of my Dad's family. My grandma McGraw would always have an angel food cake around--I think I even remember her keeping them on-hand in her freezer. Cooking is something I enjoy, but it really was her gift. We have her on old family videos measuring with eggshells. Crazy! Everything in the kitchen was so intuitive to her.

So, to master this somewhat tedious recipe is really to see what wealth of knowledge she had that was so second nature to her.

Notice all of my notes I've had to add--it's a science!

Is it a little intimidating? Yes, but do it anyway! Just imagine how tasty that cake will be--heavenly, some would say. Ha! I couldn't resist.

So, let’s get started . . . Here's what you need to know before baking. It’s imperative that you set your eggs out the night before you plan on making your cake. They need to reach room temperature. If you forget to do this, then bake some cookies instead and save the cake for another day. Speaking from experience . . . just don’t even.

So how many eggs will you need? I buy a pack of 18 jumbo eggs to use; this gives me an extra or two if I mess one up (again, speaking from experience). Also, invest in one of these doo-dads. Using that thing was seriously the highlight of my morning.

Can I use a hand-mixer? Only if you plan on getting ripped at the same time. I let my kitchen aid whip the egg whites for 10-15 minutes.

Now, with all that said, these are the tips I’ve gathered from my family and my own experience. I’d love to know if you have any secrets for the perfect angel food cake!

Anna Belle's Angel Food Cake

Verbatim from recipe card. My notes in italics.

Sift cake flour and measure: 1 1/3 cup + 3 tbl. cake flour and 1 1/3 cup + 3 tbl. granulated sugar. Sift together 7 times.

Yes, you will be wearing some of this by the time you're done.

Have eggs at room temperature (leave out at least 6 hours, preferably overnight) and measure 2 1/3 cups egg whites (about 16 jumbo eggs).

Beat with 2 tsp. cream of tartar, 2 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 tsp. salt (until foamy). (Foamy means a solid, white foam, not egg froth.)

Beginning to beat the egg whites, 6-8 speed.

This is what foamy looks like, when you add the sugar.

Slowly add 3/4 cup sugar (about 4 speed). Should stand at high peak once thoroughly whipped. (Total whipping time is about 10-15 minutes.)

Folding in sifted mixture; pull from sides and bottom of the bowl.

All combined.

Don't skip this step! Run a knife through it to get rid of air bubbles.

Fold in sifted flour mixture little at a time and put in angel pan. Run dinner knife through mixture and bake at 350, 45 minutes or a little more. (Never take out early! Bake full time even if it looks browned.) I put a ring of foil around pan before baking. It should keep it from running over. (I don't do this.) If it's a little moist on top, bake until it's firm to the touch. Put over funnel to cool (or a beer bottle or soda bottle; cool inverted for about 30-45 minutes; dislodge from pan by running a dinner knife around the edge; scrape the crumbs on the side of the pan into a bowl for the best treat ever).

At 45 minutes, nice and fluffy, but I gave it 10 more to make sure it was done.

Mr. Adams is cooling bottle of choice today. Ignore the messy kitchen!

It's so tall! Egg whites, you did your job!

The moment I flip this cake over to cool is always the most terrifying moment of my life, but by some miracle (all those egg whites), it works! Now it's time to relive my childhood and scrape the pan.