Angel Food cake, or Angel cake, is a type of sponge cake

Sponge cake

Sponge cake is a cake based on flour , sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder which has a firm, yet well aerated structure, similar to a sea sponge. A sponge cake may be produced by either the batter method, or the foam method. Typicially the batter method in the U.S. is known as a...

 originally from North America that first became popular in the U.S. in the late 19th century. It is named because of its airy lightness that was said to be the "food of the angels."

A variety of chocolate cake

Chocolate cake

Chocolate cake is a cake flavored with melted chocolate or cocoa powder.-History:Chocolate cake is made with chocolate; it can be made with other ingredients, as well. These ingredients include fudge, vanilla creme, and other sweeteners. The history of chocolate cake goes back to 1764, when Dr...

 known as Devil's food cake

Devil's food cake

Devil's food cake is a moist, airy, rich chocolate layer cake. It is considered a counterpart to the white or yellow angel food cake. Due to differing recipes and changing ingredient availability over the course of the twentieth century, it is difficult to precisely qualify what distinguishes...

, considered Angel food's "counterpart," is another popular American cake that was developed later. Angel food cake is a type of sponge cake

Sponge cake

Sponge cake is a cake based on flour , sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder which has a firm, yet well aerated structure, similar to a sea sponge. A sponge cake may be produced by either the batter method, or the foam method. Typicially the batter method in the U.S. is known as a...

 whereas devil's food cake is a type of butter cake

Butter cake

A butter cake is a cake in which one of the main ingredients is butter. Butter cakes consist of taking the most basic of ingredients butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and a leavening agent and transforming them into a baked good....

.

Description

Angel food cake requires egg whites whipped until they are stiff and gently folded into the other ingredients. For this method of leavening to work well, it is useful to have flour that has been made of softer wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

. The softer wheat and the lack of fat causes angel food cake to have a very light texture and taste. Cream of tartar is added to the mixture to prevent darkening.

Angel food cake should be cut with a serrated knife, as a straight-edged blade tends to compress the cake rather than slice it. Forks, electric serrated knives, special tined cutters or a strong thread should be used instead.
Angel food cake is usually baked in a tube pan, a tall, round pan with a tube up the center that leaves a hole in the middle of the cake. A bundt pan may also be used, but the fluted sides can make releasing the cake more difficult. The center tube allows the cake batter to rise higher by 'clinging' to all sides of the pan. The angel food cake pan should not be greased, unlike pans used to prepare other cakes. After baking, the cake pan is inverted while cooling to prevent the cake from falling in on itself. Angel food cake is sometimes frosted

Icing (food)

Icing, also called frosting in the United States, is a sweet often creamy glaze made of sugar with a liquid such as water or milk, that is often enriched with ingredients such as butter, egg whites, cream cheese, or flavorings and is used to cover or decorate baked goods, such as cakes or cookies...

 but more often has some sort of sauce, such as a sweet fruit sauce, drizzled over it. A simple glaze is also popular. Recently, many chefs (Alton Brown

Alton Brown

Alton Crawford Brown is an American television personality, author, actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats and the mini-series Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves, and he is the host and main commentator on Iron Chef America...

 in particular) have popularized the idea of adding aromatic spices such as mace and cloves to the cake.

History

Some food historians believe that the early angel food cakes were probably baked by African-American slaves from the Southern United States, as making this cake required a strong beating arm and lots of labor to whip the air into the whites. Angel food cakes are a traditional African-American favorite for post-funeral meals.

In "Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book, and Companion for Frugal and Economical" published in 1871 by M. E. Porter, has a recipe for Snow-drift Cake. A similar recipe appears in 1881 in a book by Abby Fisher, the first Black American woman and a former slave from Mobile, Alabama, who recorded her recipes in a cookbook called "What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Soups, Pickles, Preserves, Etc." in her book the cake is named "Silver Cake".

"The original Boston Cooking School Cook Book" by Mrs.D.A. Lincoln published in 1884 had a recipe for "Angel Cake" mentioning the name for the first time. In Fannie Merritt Farmer's 1896 updated version of the "Boston Cooking School Cook Book", she uses the same recipe and calls the cake "Angel Food Cake."

External Links

• History of the cake