Receta Chocolate Tweed Angel Food Cake
Heavenly Cake Baker - Submission #3
Thanks, Marie, for selecting this post to feature this week. What an honor considering the HCB company I'm keeping.
Let me begin by saying my husband loves angel food cake, but I don't. So the poor guy has had angel food cake only once or twice in the last 30 years. When I saw this cake on the baking schedule, it seemed like an opportunity to make amends. I had to make it early in January because he would be away closer to the posting date. Because everyone was still in that post-holiday, swearing off sweets mode, we decided to forgo the whipped cream frosting.
I used cake flour. It wasn't until the next day that I realized the recommended Wondra flour is what I use for sauces and that I did, in fact, have some in the cupboard.
I let my egg whites sit out for some time, but I got impatient and didn't let them come completely to room temperature, so I think I lost a bit of potential volume by rushing it.
I used my long offset spatula to run around the outside and bottom of the pan, and I thought the tip about using a wooden skewer to loosen the cake from the core was genius!
I entered the ingredients on the Weight Watchers recipe analyzer and found that 1/16 of the cake (still a generous serving) is 2 points, and for my Atkins friends I entered the details on calorie count to be able to say that one slice has 1.5g carbohydrate. (If you noticed the bellini in my photos, I'm wondering if I'll have any credibility with all of this diet talk.)
I had to borrow a tube pan to make this cake (thanks, Sandi), but now that I enjoy angel food cake, I will need one of my own. This is one I will definitely make again, and next time, it will get the whipped cream treatment!
My diet-minded family and friends had this to say about the Chocolate Tweed Angel Food Cake:
Ed: I really love angel food cake, but the touch of chocolate made this a light and fluffy dream cake!
Mike: Chocolaty and fluffy
Kim: Yummy; it tastes way too sinful to be low-carb
Sandi: It took angel food to a whole new place
Jeanne: Like you, angel food cake is not my favorite kind (I'm partial to chocolate and gooey), but this one is the best that I've eaten. The grated chocolate not only gives it a more interesting flavor, but the texture is also better than the average angel food--don't know if it's a different technique or the addition of the grated chocolate, but it just has a better feel in the mouth. There aren't many "guilt-free" desserts out there, but this one is almost health-food. I enjoyed it, and thought it was well worth the calories.
Serves 14 to 16.
- 1-1/2 cups, divided superfine sugar
- 3/4 cup cake flour, lightly spooned and leveled off (or 1 cup, sifted into the cup and leveled off)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 16 large egg whites, at room temperature, or 2 cups
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- fine-quality unsweetened or 99% cacao chocolate, chilled, finely grated, refrigerated
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: One ungreased 10-inch (16 cups) two-piece metal tube pan or 1 long-necked glass wine or soda bottle, or a large inverted metal funnel that will fit into the opening at the top of the pan. (Have this ready before baking and weight it by filling it with sugar or marbles to keep it from tipping.)
PREHEAT THE OVEN: Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
PREPARE THE SUGAR, FLOUR, AND SALT: In a small bowl, whisk together half the sugar, the flour, and salt until evenly combined. Sift the remaining sugar onto a piece of wax paper.
BEAT THE EGG WHITES INTO A STIFF MERINGUE: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk beater, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. With the mixer off, add the cream of tartar. Raise the speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the sifted sugar and continue beating on medium-high speed until very stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Beat in the vanilla until combined.
MAKE THE BATTER: Dust (lightly sprinkle) the flour mixture over the beaten whites, 1/4 cup at a time (if using cake flour, sift it over the whites). With a large balloon whisk, slotted skimmer, or large silicone spatula, fold in the flour mixture quickly but gently. It is not necessary to incorporate every speck until the last addition. Fold in the grated chocolate until evenly incorporated. Using a long narrow spatula or silicone spatula, spread a thin layer of batter onto the sides of the prepared pan to ensure smooth sides. Empty the rest of the batter into the pan. In a 16-cup pan, it will be 1/2-inch from the top of the rim. Run a small metal spatula or knife through the batter to prevent air pockets and smooth the surface evenly.
BAKE THE CAKE: Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown, a wire cake tester inserted between the tube and the side comes out clean, and the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center. (A wooden toothpick will still have a few moist crumbs clinging to it.) During baking, the center will rise about 2 inches above the pan, but it will sink to almost level with the pan when done. The surface will have deep cracks, like a souffle.
COOL AND UNMOLD THE CAKE: Invert the pan immediately, placing the tube opening over the neck of the bottle to suspend it well above the countertop. Cool completely in the pan, about 1-1/2 hours.
Loosen the sides of the pan with a long narrow spatula and remove the center core of the pan. Dislodge the cake from the bottom and center core with a metal spatula or thin sharp knife. (A wire cake tester or wooden skewer works well around the core. To keep the sides attractive, press the spatula firmly against the sides of the pan, moving the spatula up and down as you go around it.) Invert the cake onto a flat plate covered with plastic wrap that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray and reinvert it onto a serving plate. Allow the cake to sit for 1 hour, or until the top is no longer tacky. Then cover it with a cake dome or wrap it airtight. It keeps for 3 days at room temperature and for 10 days refrigerated. Freezing toughens the texture. The cake is also lovely decorated simply with a light sprinkling of cocoa or lacy drizzles of melted chocolate. Do not serve this cake with sauce as it would fall apart.