From my mom's Better Homes and Gardens cook book:
ANGEL FOOD CAKE
1.5 cups egg whites (10 to 12 large) (you can also get a pint of all egg whites at the grocery store, which is nice because any egg yolk in the whites is disaster)
1.5 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 cup sifted cake flour or sifted all purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup granulated sugar
1.) In an extra-large mixing bowl allow the egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, sift powdered sugar and flour together three times.
2.) Adjust baking rack to the lowest position in oven. Preheat to 350. Add cream of tartar and vanilla to egg whites. Beat with an electric mixer on medium until soft peaks form (tips curl). Gradually add granulated sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Don't overbeat, or cake will be dry.
3.) Sift about 0ne-fourth of the flour mixture over beaten egg whites; fold in gently. Repeat, folding in remaining flour mixture by fourths. Pour into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. (this is not the same as a bundt cake pan.) Gently cut through the batter with a knife to remove any large air pockets.
4.) Bake on the lowest rack for 40-45 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Immediately invert cake on a wine or beer bottle (see the picture). Cool thoroughly (about 2 hours). Loosen sides of the cake from pan, remove cake from pan by sliding a metal spatula between the cake and the pan. So you don't cut into the cake, constantly press the spatula against the pan and draw it around in a continuous, not sawing, motion.
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB SAUCE
I made this one up by combining the recipe for rhubarb sauce and strawberry sauce. Adding the balsamic vinegar was my own idea, though.
Cut about 2 cups of rhubarb and 1 cup of strawberries into little pieces. The rhubarb will break up, but the strawberries will stay in one piece, so make sure they're the right size for you.
Put 1/3 sugar and 1/4 water in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Add rhubarb, return to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes covered. Add strawberries, simmer for 2 minutes stirring. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar (maybe, half a tablespoon? Depends how much you like balsamic vinegar). Leave on the heat for another minute, then remove. Serve immediately or chilled.
RESULTS:
John and Suzanne invited me over for a barbecue on Sunday. I was in charge of bringing a watermelon and angel food cake. I mentioned that to Mom and she said, why don't you make the angel food cake? Angel food cake always seemed to me like one of those things that professionals make, like sausages or hard liquor, but it's not for the ordinary person to attempt. But the directions are actually pretty easy (if you follow them, which I didn't. See below.) The hardest part is being patient whipping the egg whites, and then folding the flour mixture into the egg whites. I think it works better if you try to spread the flour out as you're sifting it into the egg whites, that way it folds faster.
My first mistake was not sifting the flour and the sugar. The second was using a bundt cake pan instead of a tube pan. Both turned out ok; I was worried first of all that it would stick horribly to the pan because I couldn't get the knife around smoothly, but I just had to work at it. It was also not dense like I feared. Success!
As for the sauce, it turned out very well, if I do say so myself. It was sweet, and good even without the balsamic vinegar, but I thought that especially since it's going on such a sweet cake, it needed another flavor profile other than sweet, and the vinegar seemed to be the thing for balancing out with some sour. You can also add some orange rind to the rhubard as it's cooking, I think that would add bitter. I might reduce the sugar in the sauce the next time I serve it with angel food cake, just because that's so sweet, it doesn't need such a sweet sauce. Anyway, it was all very fun, I recommend trying it.
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