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Monday, October 10, 2011

HCB: Angel Food Cake



This is my 4th attempt at this cake. And while the result is less than perfect. I am scratching it off the list and calling it done.

This morning I looked for the pictures of the other 2 attempts that I photographed a while back and I could not find them! Note to self: Please get better at organization :).

So in lieu of pictures, let me tell you about all my attempts.

Attempt #1:
Having a large supply of egg whites in the freezer, I made a full size angel food cake. The cake bake up successfully. It rose high in the oven and looked good. Upon cooling upside down suspended over a bottle of red wine vinegar, the cake fell onto the counter top, where it cracked into 2. If you need a visual, it looked very similar to Marie's.

Attempt #2 and #3:
Borrowing a mini angel food pan from a friend, I made this cake again, multiplying the recipe by 3. 2/3 of the recipe goes into the mini angel food pan, the rest goes into my favorite Wilton silicone heart shaped pan. Forgetting Rose's instruction to spread the batter onto the sides of the pan, the cake came out sad looking, with holes everywhere. And I mean everywhere! It looks 100x worse than the cake pictured on this post. The rest of the batter that's baked in the silicone heart shaped pan baked up okay. But upon cooling it sunk horribly.

Attempt #4:
Determined to make the cake in an angel food pan. I made x2 recipe with my friend's pan again. This time I remembered to spread the batter onto the sides but I should have spread it also onto the bottom of the pan. I did run my small spatula over the batter so I don't know why it turned out this horribly.


Tasting impressions:
As I said I am done with this cake. For now. I still feel like I want to make it again as a full size but maybe I will do it when I have a surplus of egg whites in the future. It feels really funny to be so determined. Call me stubborn! As for the taste, it tasted okay. I used grated unsweetened chocolate for all attempts. I like the chocolate taste in it and the use of unsweetened chocolate is good because the cake is plenty sweet already with all the sugar. For the 4th one I used almond extract instead of vanilla - though I can't really taste the difference.

9 comments:

  1. I think after 2 or 3 times you’re allowed to strike it off your list, so kudos for trying it 4x. Usually when an angel food cake sinks it’s because it’s under backed (I found the same to be true for chiffon cakes). It could also be the altitude (might be worth googling just for kicks and giggles). I’m glad you liked the taste so enjoy your (almost) fat-free dessert :o)

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  2. These are one of those cakes that never appeal to me, either making it or eating it... so, blah in my book.

    Like Hanaa said... call it even and done...I would have done it once and that is it. Hats off to you for continuing to press on.. I know the feeling of not wanting to be beaten by egg whites ha!

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  3. ב''ה

    Wow, three tries! Keep on truckin'

    Too bad you were not able get it to come out perfect. It really is a very pretty cake when it comes out right.

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  4. Wow! You are committed! I think you more than deserve to move on!

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  5. A+ for determination! Does this have the grated chocolate?

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  6. Definitely worth the effort, I've had my chances before too with briyani, took me about 5 trials to get it right. The cake looks delicious. Nice photo.

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  7. Who cares what it looks like? Angel food cake tastes divine. I've never tried chocolate in it before; now I want to go bake one.

    You might look at a cookbook called The New Best Recipe. This book leaves nothing to the imagination—they will tell you exactly what to do. I've used this recipe many times and loved it—they have so many great tips. It still takes practice, though, ugh.

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  8. I feel your angel food cake pain. But this one looks pretty good! I agree--you can call it a success; then when you come back to the recipe, it's just another cake, not a major challenge.

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  9. Four attempts! You are tenacious. So sorry you and Angel Food Cake aren't seeing eye to eye, but maybe someday in the future you can strike an accord.

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