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Need help with my Angel Food Cake

jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)

11 years ago

The recipe I use calls for 1 3/4 cups of sugar which is way too much for my taste. For the cake I made today, I decided to use 1 cup of sugar (a half cup with the flour and the other half in the meringue). I thought the cake tasted really good. However, it only rose about half the way up the pan. Do you think this happened because I reduced the amount of sugar?

Featured Answer

Solsthumper

11 years ago

Angel Food cake is the fine Lalique of the cake world. It has the highest percentage of sugar of most sponge-type cakes. However, the egg whites also play a major role in giving the cake its volume and structure.

Btw, for those who may be wondering, Angel Food pans should never be greased - not the bottom, not the sides. The pan should always be grease-free for this type of cake.

And (you probably already know this but for the occasional baker), it is important to note that as soon as A.F. cake comes out of the oven, you should immediately hang pan upside down, until cake is completely cool, to keep it from collapsing.

Sol

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Comments (7)

lindac92
11 years ago
Yes.....Sugar keeps the meringue lofted. One recipe you can't mess with is Angel food cake.
ruthanna_gw
11 years ago
Did you grease the pan? Both angel food and chiffon cakes should only be greased on the bottom of the pan; not the sides. The batter needs to climb up the pan to achieve its full size.
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jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the replies! I am trying to make the perfect angel food cake. I have had a lot of success and my DH loves the cake that has the full boat of sugar - it's just that it's way too sweet for me. (1 3/4 cups is a lot). I kind of figured though that sugar was the one thing that couldn't be changed. I just remembered that the other thing I didn't do this time was spin the sugar first - I usually process it to make the grains finer but this time I didn't do that.

Do you subscribe to the medium or stiff peaks method of meringue? I have read the theories on both and am not sure which makes more sense.
lindac92
11 years ago
Peaks that peak but fall over....If you are trying to reduce the sugar, don't try to reduce the amount you add to the egg whites....because it's the sugar that stabilizes the air in the whites.
I don't find angel Food cake overly sweet....but I never frost it....usually serve it with just fresh fruit.
plllog
11 years ago
Since I don't eat many sweets, I find all sponge cakes too sugary sweet. Even as a cookie loving child, I'd put sour cream on sponge cake. I'd rather choose something else. Like serve the cake with fresh berries and just eat the berries. The sweetness of angel food is one of the things that makes it angelic. :)
jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
Original Author
11 years ago
pillog - funny you should say that because I like to eat it with sour cream (or creme fraiche) and berries (any berry in season or all berries mixed).

lindac - now that's a great tip - thank you! So if I am doing 1 cup of sugar, make the meringue with 3/4 cup and mix the flour with the other 1/4 cup.

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