Black and White Angel Food Cake

Yesterday I pulled out the eggs and cracked 12 of them, separated the whites from the yolks, and let the whites stand on my counter for about 45 minutes. I put the yolks in the fridge and they shriveled; guess I should have put them in a Tupperware or something. Oops.  I grated some chocolate and ended up with brown, chocolatey fingers. And then I whipped the eggs into a massive froth. I turned on the oven, yes even in this temperature, and was delighted when I pulled a beautiful cake out 40 minutes later. The hard part was waiting for it to cool enough to glaze it and eat a piece with some cold milk. But it was worth the wait!

I saw this recipe one afternoon several weeks ago while watching the Food Network and I have been wanting to make it ever since. And now I wonder why I waited so long to finally make this lovely cake. (Well I know why, I was being lazy.)

Now here a few confessions. I don't own an Angel Food cake pan, so I used my spring-form pan and it worked wonderfully. Second, when the cake had cooled partly I pulled the spring-form pan off and a bit stuck to the bottom and I was delighted! Why?? Because it gave me a great opportunity to snitch a bit while I was waiting for the cake to completely cool. Lastly, next time I make this cake I might serve it with a raspberry glaze rather than the chocolate glaze. It was fantastic like this, but the chocolate glaze is very powerful and overwhelms the cake a bit. And lastly, I may or may not have had a piece of this cake this morning as a second breakfast.

Black and White Angel Food Cake
Recipe from Ina Garten
Pictures by Caroline

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted superfine sugar (about 1 pound)

1 1/3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)

1 1/2 cups egg whites at room temperature (10 to 12 eggs)

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup coarsely grated semisweet chocolate

For the glaze:

1/2 pound semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with the flour and sift them together 4 times. Set aside.
3. Place the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the eggs form medium-firm peaks, about 1 minute. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Beat on high speed for a few minutes until thick and shiny. Add the vanilla and continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 more minute. Scrape the beaten egg whites into a large bowl. Sift 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and fold it very carefully into the batter with a rubber spatula. Continue adding the flour in 3 equal additions, sifting and folding until it's all incorporated. Fold in the grated chocolate.
4. Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and bake it for 35 to 45 minutes, until it springs back to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack. When cool, run a thin, flexible knife around the cake to remove it from the pan.
5. For the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate chips and the heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate melts. Pour the chocolate over the top of the cooled cake to cover the top completely and allow it to drizzle down the sides. If you have chocolate glaze left over, you can serve it on the side with the cake.