Angel Food Cake

When I was a kid, the first cake I ate was angel food. It was the only cake my mother ever made. It was out of a box and came with a packet of tiny multi-colored sprinkles, which exploded in the cake while it was baking to make "confetti cake". I loved the almond aroma.

Angel food cake is inherently fat-free and puffs up a lot, so you get a big piece of cake with less sugar and flour.

Here's my version of angel food cake, made with whole cane juice and whole wheat flour. It's light and has that lovely almond aroma, but a bit more texture with the whole wheat flour.

It's a plain cake that is very versatile. My husband and I and my assistant Joyce managed to eat this whole cake plain in about an hour (it's that good!), but I recommend smaller servings. Whipped cream and fruit are great acccompaniments, and this cake can be used to make a lot of other things as well. It can be toasted, made into crumbs, soaked with cream...it's just a great, all purpose cake. Search on "Ways to use angel food cake" on the internet for some ideas...

makes 8 servings

6 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup powdered unrefined cane sugar (sold as "powdered organic sugar")
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. With an electric mixer beat egg whites until stiff. While beating, add salt, cream of tartar, almond extract, vanilla extract and powdered unrefined cane sugar.
3. Remove the bowl from mixer and sprinkle the flour over the beaten egg whites. Gently fold flour into the egg whites with a rubber or silicone spatula.
4. Place batter into an ungreased pan.
5. Bake for 30 to 60 minutes depending on the size of the pan. When it's done the cake will be golden brown on top and a wooden skewer inserted will come out clean.
6. Remove cake from oven and place it upside down onto cooling rack.
7. Cool completely before removing the cake from the pan.
8. Serve.