Though it takes some time to accumulate the necessary egg whites in my freezer, once I've got a good reserve I always turn to angel food cake. I love its pillowy texture, something I heighten with the contrasting technique of toasting one side of each slice in a little butter until it's gone golden brown and crisp. This cake can be made a few days in advance of your next party, and it freezes extraordinarily well, so you've really got no excuse for not making one post-haste.
- 2 ounces Millet Flour
- 1 ounce White Rice Flour
- 1 ounce Sweet Rice Flour
- 1 ounce Tapioca Starch
- 15 ounces cold Egg Whites (From 10-12 eggs)
- 15 ounces Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the flours together before sifting into separate bowl to combine.
- Add egg whites, sugar, and vanilla to bowl of stand mixer.
- Beat whites, sugar, and vanilla for 1 minute, until they have loosened up.
- Increase the mixer to medium speed and beat for 2-3 minutes. The egg whites should begin to look slightly foamy and should lose the wet-mud sound that accompanied their beating in the beginning phase.
- Add the lemon juice and salt, and then increase the speed of your mixer to medium-high. Beat for another 2-3 minutes, until the whites are white, very foamy, and increased twice in volume.
- Increase the speed of your mixer to high for a final whip. Watch carefully in this phase, it could need as little as 1 minute and as many as 3 to complete the beating. Stop early and check to make sure that the egg whites haven’t been over beaten. They should be soft, they should fall back onto themselves when you lift the whisk, and they should be just below the texture of soft serve ice cream. They should still be pourable from the bowl when you’ve done it right.
- Fold in the sifted flour and pour the mixture into a 10-inch tube pan.
- Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, until it’s crowned above the ridge of your pan and is firm to the touch on top.
- Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan. Allow it to cool upside down. Slice and serve.
