Angel Food Cake (from heaven)

STEP 1

Heat the oven to 375°F. Make sure your 10-inch angel food cake pan is very clean and very dry.

MAJOR BAKING TIP: Do not grease the baking pan for this recipe. Angel food cake is delicate and will collapse if the sides of the pan are not clean and dry!

STEP 2

Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, cake flour, and salt together in a medium bowl, then sift them together into a large, dry bowl.

STEP 3

Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the whites on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is very foamy and you can’t see any liquid egg white in the bottom of the bowl.

STEP 4

Increase the mixer speed to high and begin adding the sugar very gradually, 1 teaspoon at a time. Take it easy here; it should take about 5 minutes to add all the sugar.

STEP 5

Continue to beat the egg whites and sugar for another 2 to 3 minutes on high speed. During this time, add the vanilla extract and any additional flavoring or coloring you want. The mixture should look voluminous and glossy, and hold soft peaks.

STEP 6

Gently transfer the egg whites to the largest bowl you own. The larger the bowl, the easier it will be to thoroughly fold in the dry ingredients without deflating the whites. Carefully sprinkle half of the sifted dry ingredients as evenly as possible on top of the egg whites. Use a flexible spatula to gently fold the egg white mixture over the dry, starting from the bottom center of the bowl and dragging the spatula along the bottom of the bowl toward you, folding it over the dry ingredients and rotating the bowl as you go, and breaking up any large pockets of dry ingredients along the way.

STEP 7

As soon as the largest pockets of dry ingredients are incorporated, go ahead and add the rest of the dry ingredients and fold them into the mixture.

STEP 8

The second you feel confident that the dries are incorporated with no large pockets remaining (small pea-size lumps are OK), gently pour the batter into the pan and bake until it is puffy, slightly browned, and springs back when touched, 30 to 35 minutes.

STEP 9

Remove the cake from the oven, remove the bottom of the pan if there is one, or quickly flip the pan upside down onto a wire rack and let it hang for 2 to 3 hours, until cool.

STEP 10

Run a small butter knife or offset spatula between the edge of the cake and the pan to help release it, getting as far down to the bottom as you can. Shake the cake pan a little bit to make sure the cake is loosened on all sides before inverting to fully release the cake.

STEP 11

If you choose to glaze your beautiful angel food cake, put it on a wire rack with a rimmed baking dish underneath and pour your glaze of choice in an even stream all over the top of the cake. (If you have any leftover glaze, serve it on the side when you slice the cake.) Let the glaze set up for 15 minutes, then dig in!

STEP 12

The angel food cake will keep in the refrigerator, wrapped, for up to 1 week. Let the refrigerated cake sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.