Lemon Angelfood Cake

The first time I invited my parents to come over for lunch after I got married, I think my dad's expectations were pretty low. Bologna sandwiches low, you might ask? Maybe. He certainly wasn't expecting an entire, from scratch, homemade meal. But that's what I did. Now, he loved that I made my mother's spinach salad with homemade french dressing, and he ate two helping of the chicken tetrazzini. But what really wowed him (and what I wasn't counting on as a "wow factor") was that I had made a lemon angelfood cake from scratch. Now, to understand the wow factor here, you must understand that my mother's favorite thing to make for dinner is reservations. Now, that doesn't mean she is a bad cook -- far from it, I would rather eat my mother's cooking than my own. But she objects (strongly) to the large mess that daily, from scratch cooking entails. In fact, as I was explaining that I had successfully separated a dozen eggs to make the lemon angelfood cake, she visibly shuddered. But she did admit that the cake was excellent. And my dad raved about it so much that I have made it for my parents numerous times since. Finally, I suppose that mom concluded that since I was making the gigantic mess in my own kitchen (and I will admit that this is a messy and lengthy process) that it was okay for her to indulge and enjoy.

Now, despite telling you that lemon angelfood cake is a "lengthy and messy" process, I will also assure you that it is well worth the time and effort. Dad would like me to add here that the stewed berries I made to go with the lemon angelfood cake were also excellent, although at first he doubted that they would improve or add anything to the experience. Au contraire. So without further ado...

Lemon Angelfood Cake

2 cups superfine sugar, divided*
1 and 1/3 cups sifted cake flour (NOT self-rising!)
1 and 1/2 cups egg whites at room temperature (about a dozen eggs)
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest (about 2 medium lemons)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine 1/2 cup superfine sugar with the cake flour and sift together 4 times (this is very important). Set aside.

Pour egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the whites make medium-firm peaks, about 1 minute. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 1 and 1/2 cups of superfine sugar by sprinkling it over the whites as they are being whipped. Whisk for a few more minutes until the whites are thick and shiny. Whisk in the vanilla and lemon zest and continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 more minute. Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and fold it into the whites with a rubber spatula.** Continue adding the flour by fourths by sifting and folding it in until it has all been incorporated.

Pour the batter into an ungreased (very important, since this is a cake that will literally "climb" the walls of the tube pan) 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake springs back slightly when touched. Remove the cake from the oven and invert on a cooling rack until completely cool.

Stewed Berries:
I made this up as I went along, so feel free to modify as needed.
2 cups strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

I cleaned and chopped the berries (leave large chunks, they will disintegrate a little as they cook), then placed them in a small saucepan. I dumped in the sugar and water (my measurements are, at best, guesstimates) and then cooked over low heat until the sugar dissolved and the juice from the berries combined with the sugar and water to make a slightly thickened syrup. Yum!

Note: This cake is also excellent in the summer with fresh berries that have been well-sugared and stashed in the refrigerator overnight. Either way, you can't go wrong. Oh, and if you can't find nice strawberries, raspberries would probably be even better!

*If your grocery store doesn't sell superfine sugar (mine doesn't), you can simply pour the two cups of sugar into a food processor and zing it around in there for 10 seconds or so. The first time you do this, maybe just pulse it slowly and keep an eye on the sugar. You're looking for a texture somewhere between regular sugar you might put in your coffee and powdered sugar. Believe it or not, you can actually *see* when the sugar has reached a "superfine" state. Trust me, it sounds more difficult than it really is.

**If you are new to "folding," it's actually pretty simple. Hold the bowl firmly (I tend to tuck it in my arm and hug it to me --messy, but it works) and stick your spatula straight into the middle of the bowl. Pull the spatula out and up and fold that first scoop of batter toward the center of the bowl. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Keep doing this until all the flour is incorporated, then add some more flour. It may seem awkward at first, but it gets easier. Believe me, or else I wouldn't make this cake so often!

Final Notes:

1. I don't know what it is about angelfood cakes, but they are, in my experience, the most likely to "fall;" that is, for mysterious reasons known only to it, come out of the oven looking like an overgrown hockey puck. While this has never happened to me, my grandmother (who I must assume has experienced this type of disaster) gave me strict instructions on how to avoid this type of cake catastrophe: Never, but never, allow anyone in the house to do more than tiptoe and whisper while the cake is baking. If they do, some obscure god of cakes will be offended by the noise and cause your cake to end up flatter than the proverbial pancake. Not pretty.
2. According to my sources, this cake is actually pretty healthy if you are someone concerned with your weight, health, etc. I can safely feed this to my eighty-some odd years old great aunt who suffers from type-2 diabetes, as well as to my mother who follows the Curves diet for women. In any event, it basically has no fat whatsoever, so dig in!