Makes one 9-inch tube cake
In order to reach a lofty height, angel food cake needs to cling to the sides of the pan, both as it bakes and while it cools. This is why the pan is ungreased and the cake is cooled upside down. Some angel food cake pans have little “feet” on the rim to hold the cake above the tabletop or counter. If your pan has no feet, place the inverted pan on a bottle with a long, relatively thin neck.
Ingredients
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Sift the flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and salt twice onto parchment or waxed paper and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and water on low speed until foamy, 2 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and continue to whip until the egg whites form soft peaks, 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract, then gradually add the remaining 1 cup sugar while whipping. Continue until the egg whites are glossy and form medium peaks, 3 to 4 minutes.
- With a rubber spatula or wide spoon, gently fold the sifted flour and sugar mixture into the egg whites. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9-inch angel food cake pan, run a butter knife through the batter once to ensure that there are no air pockets, and smooth the top. Bake until golden brown on top, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Turn the cake pan upside down and let it cool completely before turning out the cake. Use a spatula or thin knife to release the cake from the sides of the pan and turn out carefully. Cool before serving.
