The best bakery angel food cake
Food Editor Kate is working on a piece for Mother's Day on desserts to make with angel food cake. She asked me if I would post something here asking for suggestions for bakeries that have a decent one, in case people didn't want to go to the trouble of baking their own first.
I told her I loved angel food cakes. After all these years I can still remember the smell of the powdered egg whites in the Betty Crocker mix I used when I was a little girl. She e-mailed me back asking if I wanted to write the story.
I've got to be more careful about sharing these memories.
(Photo of Chocolate Angel Food Cake from "A Year In Chocolate," by Jacques Torres)
Comments
This distributed journalism might be going a bit far.
Dibs on licking the bowl!
Posted by: Lissa | April 22, 2009 12:13 PM
This looks delicious!
Posted by: Michael Karelis | April 22, 2009 2:35 PM
Our cousin in Minnesota had the best idea ever for a new bride. When her two sons got married, Bonnie put together a "friends and family" cookbook for each of them. We contributed several family recipes, plus some favorites of our own. Bonnie's recipe for angel food cake comes with this memory: "Every year for as long as I can remember, my dad made an angel food cake from scratch for my mother on her birthday. He was fanatical about it and always bought a fresh tin of cream of tartar and Swan's Down cake flour, had the eggs exactly the right temperature and beat the egg whites by hand with a flat wire whip. While the cake baked and cooled, NO ONE was allowed in the kitchen or to enter or leave the house for fear that the slightest tremble might cause the cake to fall."
Now that's baking with love!
Posted by: Dahlink | April 22, 2009 3:28 PM
I agree with you Michael, it does look delicous. And I'm not even fond of angel food cake (except the batter).
Lissa, there were 3 of us so my mom used to give 2 kids and beater and the luckiest one got the bowl.
Posted by: Joyce W. | April 22, 2009 3:29 PM
My wife spent several years growing up in Alaska while her father was in the public health service (pre-statehood). Angel food cake became the standard birthday treat because so many of their pantry basics were shipped dry, especially powdered milk and egg whites. I don't know about the cream of tartar, but I betcha there was tartaric acid in the lab!
Posted by: MD Canon | April 22, 2009 4:54 PM
Oh who would seek out an angel food cake? Angel food cake is something you eat when you want to pretend you are having a dessert. It is where you find yourself after having one too many pecan pies or pot de creme, and it is your last step before buying pants with an elastic waistband.
Posted by: Robert of Cross Keys | April 22, 2009 8:44 PM
Or, RoCK, you can regard it as a delivery system for loads of fresh berries.
Posted by: Dahlink | April 23, 2009 5:48 PM
RoCK and Dahlink:
With a dollop of whip cream on top! Or a mound!
Posted by: janna | April 24, 2009 8:57 AM