Angel Food Cake

This is from the Americas Test Kitchen Cookbook. I love everything I have baked from it, but have found its important to follow it exactly.


3/4 cup cake flour (can use 7/8 cup all purpose flour with 2 tbl cornstarch, but not quite same lift)
1 1/2 cup sugar
12 egg whites room temp
1 tea cream of tarter
1/4 tea salt
1 1/2 tea fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tea vanilla extract
1/2 tea almond extract (you can omit this if your allergy needs require it)

heat oven to 325 degrees, whisk the flour and 3/4 cup of the sugar together, and set aside. whip the egg whites in your mixer until foamy. then add the cream of tarter and salt until it forms soft billowy mounds. Increase speed to med and add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar one tablespoon at a time until the whites are shiny. and starts to form soft peaks. add the lemon juice and extracts.
slowly fold in the flour mixture, about 1/5 cup at a time. it should take 6 or 7 times to add and fold.
pour into angel food cake pan, and smooth. bake aprox 50 to 60 minutes. rotating the pan halfway through baking.
if your pan has legs, invert it. if it doesn't have legs, use a soda bottle in the hole of the pan to invert it while cooling. cool completely, 2 or 3 hrs.
run a knife around the edge and center to loosen the cake, and flip it onto a platter.


can be served with berries and cream, or lemon sauce. (see other post)