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Poppyseed Angel Food
Cake
with Grapefruit Curd
 from In
the Sweet Kitchen
Regan Daley
Written by our former colleague, Regan Daley, this is a book near and
dear to our hearts. Before she worked with us, Regan worked as a pastry
chef. Here she shares her knowledge of the equipment, techniques, and
ingredients that make up the 'Sweet Kitchen'. Included are lists of tried
and true flavour combinations. Mouth-watering recipes that follow illustrate
the soundness of those combinations. Colour photos. The book recently
won the IACP Cookbook of the Year Award for 2001. $45.00.
Serves 8 to 10
Angel food cake has recently become fashionable again, mostly due to
its low fat content. The thing is, dreamy light angel food cake is very
nice with a few slices of oranges or a handful of berries, but is absolutely
wicked with a big dollop of rich fruit curd beside it (diet police be
damned!). Both original and simple, this is a fluffy cake with a fine
moist crumb, enhanced by the delicate flavour and texture of poppyseeds.
The Grapefruit Curd makes it a truly exceptional dessert, but the cake
would also be wonderful with a raspberry or blackberry sauce (see book)
or with the blackberry curd (see book). The cake and the grapefruit curd
are natural partners for another reason: the curd uses the same number
of yolks as the cake does whites!
1 cup cake-and-pastry flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups caster (superfine) sugar
1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 10 extra large, or 12 to 13 large), at
room temperature (see book for tips on separating eggs)
2 tablespoons lukewarm water
1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons poppyseeds
1 recipe Grapefruit Curd (see book)
Candied grapefruit peel, optional, for garnish (see variation in book)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a spotlessly clean 10-inch
tube pan with a removable bottom, ungreased and unlined. I prefer the
old-fashioned aluminium pans, as opposed to new non-stick pans. A properly
baked angel food cake will have no trouble unmoulding from an aluminium
pan. Working between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, sift the
flour and 1/2 cups of the sugar together 3 times, then set it nearby.
2. In the very clean, grease-free bowl of an electric or stand mixer
fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large mixing bowl if whipping
by hand, beat the egg whites with warm water until frothy. Make sure your
whisk and any scrapers you will use are also grease-free -- even a speck
of fat or yolk could prevent the whites from acheiving the best volume.
Add the cream of tartar and the salt and whip the whites until soft peaks
form. Gradually add the remaining sugar, a little at a time, whipping
constantly. When all the sugar has been added, the whites should be firm,
glossy and hold stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.
3. The flour-sugar mixture must be incorporated very gently, but as quickly
as possible so as not to deflate the whites. I find the best way to do
this is to use my bare hand. That way, I can feel exactly when the flour
has been evenly distributed, and where any lumps might be. (You can also
use a large rubber spatula, but I encourage you to get right in there
-- it feels wonderful and decadent.) Sprinkle about 1/4 of the flour mixture
over the whites, then use your (clean!) hand to fold the batter over onto
itself, making sure you reach down to the very bottom of the bowl and
scoop all the way around the sides and through the centre. When you don't
see or feel lumps of flour, add another 1/4 of the flour. Repeat until
the final 1/4 of the flour is almost incorporated, then fold in the poppyseeds.
The batter should still be very fluffy, light and smooth. Scrape the batter
into the pan, taking care not to bang the spatula on the bowl or the bowl
on the counter, as this could deflate some of the air trapped in the whites.
Smooth the top of the batter, then run a clean knife through the batter
in the pan to rupture any large air bubbles.
4. Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted
in the centre of the cake comes out clean, and the top is cracked and
golden. If your tube pan has little legs, invert the pan and cool the
cake upside down right over the counter. If your pan does not have legs,
invert the pan over a wine bottle neck through the centre tube. Some pans
have tubes that are too narrow to accomodate the neck of a wine bottle
-- these pans can be inverted into a large colander and cooled right in
the bowl of the colander. Cool the cake completely, until the pan no longer
feels warm.
5. To unmould, run a long, thin-bladed knife all around the outside of
the pan and around the centre tube. Carefully pull the tube upwards, bringing
the cake with it and leaving the sides of the pan. Run the knife between
the cake and the pan bottom, then invert the cake onto a platter. Angel
food cake is best served the day it is make, as it tends to lose its fluffiness
and gets sticky with sitting, but well-covered leftovers can be stored
for several days at room temperature.
There are special angel food cake cutters available at kitchenware shops,
and they are a great gadget if you like this type of cake! Conventional
knives tear the delicate cake and make a mess of each slice. The best
way to cut this cake without the special cutter is with two forks: put
the forks back to back into the top of the cake, where you mean to make
a cut. Gently pull the cake apart, as though you were exposing a treasure
buried just beneath the surface. You will have perfect, high-standing
pieces. Serve with a generous dollop of Grapefruit Curd and garnish with
a few pieces of candied grapefruit peel, if desired.
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