Angel Cake

Sunday afternoon:  It was the middle of the day and I needed to take a short break from my activities.  Football was dominating the other room so I retreated into the bedroom, sprawled across the bed and turned on the television for some mindless distraction that would keep me still for a few minutes.  I clicked on a few random channels and (I am not kidding, really) this is what I got...Property Virgins, Sister Wives, Bridezillas and Maneater.  What?  Four random channels in succession and that is what is offered over football?  Really?  The agitation was building so I took a breath and realized I have shows recorded.  Ah!  Yes...there it is.  One of my favorite cooking shows largely due to the host, Laura Calder, who manages to stay calm, mellow and makes you feel like you are in her kitchen instead of being taught through a camera lens (the music is great, too)!  I tuned into an episode of her French Food at Home and it was doing the trick for my bit of relaxing.  Then she started on a dessert that had only four ingredients.  "Angel Cake," she said.  But the french version with whole eggs instead of Angel FOOD cake which uses only egg whites.  That was it for my break.  I left the room, knowing I had those four ingredients and went directly to the kitchen.

Here are the four ingredients:  6 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup sifted flour.  That's it!

Start by separating the eggs.

Whip them up into stiff peaks.  (Yes, that is only egg whites).

Add the egg yolks one at a time, then the vanilla and sugar.  Finally add the flour in slowly and the batter should be blended and ribbony when poured.

Here is the part I had a little trouble.  The recipe called for baking at 400 degrees for one hour.  On the show - she said 45 minutes and watch the cake since you want to bake through to the center.  It's a big cake.  You make it in your spring form pan (like I do for my cheesecakes).  The problem was I left for 45 minutes and I thought it was already too long.  I think it was a bit overdone so I will be cutting back on some of the time in the oven next time.

In any case, I let cool for 15 minutes, took it out of the pan and sprinkled with confectioners sugar.

Okay - she used blackberries.  I had a fresh pear left from last week which I diced and added to some raspberry preserves I had in the fridge.  A dab of bottled whipped cream and I was done!  It has the same taste and texture of an angel food cake but slightly richer and not as sticky.  A great cake!

And what a better way to take a break on a Sunday afternoon instead of the mind-numbing offerings (really? - Property Virgins, Sister Wives, Bridezillas and Maneater) of really bad television - in my humble opinion, anyway.  They certainly couldn't serve up the comfort and good feelings a little time in the kitchen with this simple cake could, that's for sure!

TT

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Here is the link to the recipe.  It is from Laura Calders French Food at Home episode Summer Buffet.   http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/angel-cake-with-blackberries-and-white-currants-recipe/index.html