Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Blueberries

This light and fluffy Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Blueberries is a cake recipe made mostly from a large amount of egg whites, cake flour and sugar. Its soft, air-like texture makes it an ideal dessert for warm months, but it is just as superb served all year round. I topped this cake with fresh berries and a sprinkling of powdered sugar to make it even more flavorful. This is a recipe of The Quirino Kitchen by Elizabeth Ann Quirino, adapted from All Recipes.

Cook Time1

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Angel Food Cake Strawberries Blueberries

Servings: people

Calories: 375kcal

Author: Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Equipment

Large mixing bowls
Cake sifter or sieve
Electric cake mixer with wire whisk beaters
spatulas
Angel Cake Tube Cake Pan - 10 x 4 inches
cake rack
cake platter

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups confectioner's sugar
1 ¼ cups cake flour
2 cups egg whites, from 12 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For cake topping:

1/2 cup fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 F degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the 1 ¼ cups confectioner's sugar, and cake flour, Sift this mixture 3 times. Use a regular wire sieve. It is important to sift 3 times. Set flour mixture aside.
Pour the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric cake mixer with wire whisk beaters, beat the egg white mixture on high speed. Gradually add the granulated sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.
Beat the egg whites till fluffy, glossy peaks form. There should be no trace of bubbles in the egg white mixture.
Turn off the electric mixer.
Using a wide rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour-confectioner's sugar mixture, a little at a time. Slowly stir in the vanilla extract. Fold very carefully so that the egg whites do not collapse.
Pour the cake batter into the Angel Food Tube Cake Pan, level off the top with a cake spatula.
Bake at 325 F for 1 hour or until cake springs back when touched.
Invert the cake pan on a rack to cool. The Angel Food Tube Pan's feet on the edges should support the cake pan.
TIP: If you don't have an Angel Food Tube Cake Pan with feet, insert the middle tube onto the neck of a bottle that fits. Let the cake in the pan cool completely. This is an important step to follow so that the cake doesn't collapse. It may take up to 50 minutes to cool the cake.
When cake is cool, loosen the sides with a sharp knife. Tap the sides and top of the inverted cake pan, as you slip the cake on a platter.
Decorate the top with strawberries and blueberries.
Sprinkle the top of the berries and the cake with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

Cook's comments:

1. Cream of tartar is a dry, powder which is an acidic byproduct of fermenting grapes in wine. It is found in the baking aisle or the spice aisle of large supermarkets or food stores.
Adding cream of tartar to egg whites when beating the mixture, speeds up the foam creation and helps stabilize the whites. This ingredient is used for cakes and pastries that require beating egg whites to a fluffy, shiny peak like meringues, cookies or this Angel Food Cake recipe.
2. I use fresh fruits as topping for this recipe most times. If using frozen, there is a chance, the fruits get liquidy and soak the cake, so, I try to avoid that by using fresh. A sprinkling of confectioner's sugar alone makes the cake just as delicious and appealing.

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