Have you ever tried making an angel food cake from scratch? I don't make it very often, but every so often we have egg whites to use up. This time I had 9 whites. I was just going to pull out my favorite recipe and whip it up, but it called for 14 egg whites!! So I headed for the cookbook collection and found one that only took 8-10 egg whites.
Now I have made an angel food with a vintage recipe before. It didn't turn out so well, so I wasn't too sure what to expect. I did notice differances between the "modern" recipe and the vintage. In the vintage, you do not whip in the sugar like making a merigue, it is just folded in before the flour. Also the temperature was a lot lower. And the flour to egg white ratio was higher then in the modern recipe.
A few tips I have learned about angel food. Definatly leave the egg whites out a couple of minuets to warm up, they get fluffier at room temperture. Cake flour makes a big differance. It is finer and blends in better. If you can't stand the bleached taste (llike I can't), mix half cake flour and half all purpose. Cool throughly, there is nothing worse then a mushy cake. I know it is hard to wait, but it is worth it! I my opinon, the little "legs" on the pan don't work all that well, I used a bottle.
As you can see, it didn't last long. I hardly had time to snap a few pictures! And no time to decide what to put on top!! Even though it wasn't as tall as a regular angel food, I was really happy with the texture. Very fine, but still moist. I think this recipe is a keeper!
Wondering why I would have 9 eggs white to get rid of? Extra Special Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream!!