Angel food Cake Recipe
(from my great grandmother, Barbara Budin, who brought this recipe with her from Czechoslovakia in the 1880’s)
From Kim Larson
- Set your oven at 350°.
- Cut and line the bottom of cake pan (Wilton 16×4″) with wax paper. This will make it much easier to get your cake out of the pan.
- Measure into a sifter 1 1/2 cups Soft As Silk cake flour and 1 cup sugar. Sift once.
- Separate egg whites to 2 cups, at room temperature. Add the egg whites and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a mixer. Begin beating. When foamy, add 2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar, and beat until very stiff. Slow down your mixer and add 1 1/4 cups sugar. Also, slowly add 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon each almond, lemon and orange extracts. Beat in well. Be sure to scrape down the side of the bowl to incorporate.
- Sift cake flour, and sugar mixture a second time as you add it to the wet mixture. Fold small amounts in at a time with the special whip. To fold, dip and lift. Do not just “mix,” so you are incorporating air with each fold.
- Pour into cake pan, tap hard on the counter to release air pockets. Run a knife in a zigzag pattern from one end of the pan to the other, and then smooth off the top with a spatula.
- Place in center of the oven and bake 42 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- When done, remove from the oven and immediately invert onto a cooling rack for at least two hours or until it is completely cool to the touch. Do not leave it near a draft!
- To remove, use a long, slim knife to go all the way around the edges and then turn it over onto a cutting board to remove the cake from the pan. Be sure to wrap it immediately in Saran Wrap to be sure it does not dry out. Anytime you open it to cut a piece off, be sure to re-wrap it immediately. This will store well for up to four or five days.
- Enjoy! Let me know how this goes for you and feel free to ask any questions you have when you do this the first time. Good luck!!
Marie Antoinette never said, “Let them eat cake.”
Marie Antoinette’s most famous line has echoed for more than 200 years, reportedly adding fuel to the fire of France’s revolution. The only problem is the French queen’s supposed declaration is a myth — historians don’t think Marie Antoinette ever said, “Let them eat cake,” after being told her subjects had no bread. Researchers point to two main plot holes in the quote’s supposed backstory, the first being its phrasing in English. In fact, the French queen is supposed to have said, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche,” or “Let them eat brioche,” a reference to a decadent bread made with eggs and butter.
The second problem is that the outline of the tale predates Marie Antoinette’s reign. At least one similar story cropped up around the 16th century in Germany, wherein a noblewoman suggested the poorest citizens in her kingdom eat sweetened bread. However, the first person to print the line about brioche was likely Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French philosopher who mentioned the story around 1767 in his book Confessions, attributing the comment to a “great princess.” Rousseau’s text was published when Marie Antoinette was still a child in Austria, though it’s possible the story inspired French revolutionaries decades later, and was repeated with the addition of Marie Antoinette’s name as propaganda against the French monarchy. Yet there is no historical evidence (aka printed materials) that proves the queen ever uttered the phrase.
While Marie Antoinette was known for her excessive spending, some historians say the centuries-long smear to her reputation has long overshadowed her philanthropic side. As queen, she established a home for unwed mothers, personally adopted and cared for orphans, and even sold the royal flatware in 1787 to cover the cost of grain for impoverished families — all activities befitting a benevolent ruler who just so happened to love shopping.