Today is National Angel Food Cake Day! What, you haven't heard of it? No, really, I don't make these things up. See, it's right here and here.
I decided to post for the day because way back when I was just 7 or 8 years old, I made an angel food cake from scratch, and it turned out perfectly.
I don't remember why I wanted to make an angel food cake. My best guess is that I fixated on the word "angel", but it's just a guess. At this point, all I remember is that I wanted to make it.
My mother was generally very supportive when one of us kids wanted to do something, and this time was no different. I don't recall if I needed her to help, but I don't think so, because, well, she wasn't very domestically inclined to begin with, and I can't think of a single time she baked any cakes herself. But she may have helped me read the recipe instructions and figure out what they meant.
I definitely don't remember how I whipped the eggs. There's no way I did that by hand. Maybe we had a hand mixer.
So there are many details I don't recall. But I do remember that it turned out as it was supposed to, and everyone liked it.
And then my mother told me how difficult it was to make an angel food cake and have it turn out right.
So I decided to rest on my laurels and didn't try to make one again for about 20 years. And then I did it from a mix.
I have always been a baker, but, surprisingly, never attempted an angel food cake. I am in a group called CLASSIC club that meets monthly and i often bake something for this group. My favorite is Boston Cream Pie, but oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a close second. But my wife likes to make "savory" food (non-dessert, non salad) and has first dibs in the kitchen. But this month I am making cookies.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, CLASSIC is an acronym for "Community building Leisure Activities for Seniors at St. Isidore Church." But I say it is "Consuming Large Amounts of Spanish, Sicilian and Italian Cooking."
That sounds like a fun club! I love Boston cream pie and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I wish there were something like that near me. But I do cook regularly for friends for the Monday Night Dinner group. I tell them they're my guinea pigs. :)
DeleteCream of what now?
ReplyDeleteCream of tartar is one of those mystery ingredients you might have seen in your grandma's pantry without knowing what it's used for. After all, its name doesn't give you a clue—not like baking powder or baking soda. Yet just a touch of it makes a big difference in your baking and cooking. Here's what it is and how to use it in recipes, and even around the house. #multitasker
What is cream of tartar?
First of all, it's not creamy. It's a dry, powdery, acidic byproduct of fermenting grapes into wine. Its sciency name is potassium bitartrate, aka potassium hydrogen tartrate or tartaric acid (hence the commercial name). But you can find it in the spice aisle labeled as plain ol' cream of tartar. It is a byproduct of the wine making process.
What is cream of tartar used for?
Adding a small amount of cream of tartar when you're beating egg whites—usually 1/8 teaspoon per egg white—speeds up the creation of foam and helps stabilize the structure of those miniscule air bubbles you're whipping up. In baking, this means mile-high meringue pies, melt-in-your-mouth meringue cookies, and angel food cakes that practically float off the plate.
Thanks for the great description! I have cream of tartar in my kitchen and have used it. The odds on my mother, who was not domestic by choice and who didn't know how to cook before she married my father, having cream of tartar in her kitchen are diminishingly small, however.
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