Angel cake

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Angel cake is a type of cake that became popular in the U.S. in the 19th century. It is also called angel food cake as a contrast to chocolate Devil's food cake, but the two cakes are completely different in type. The chocolate, butter-based layer cake appeared at the same general time period, as one of the many new American cakes made possible by the invention of baking powder.

Angel cake differs from many other cakes by its cottony texture and color, which is achieved using only beaten egg whites, white sugar, and white flour. To enhance the egg whites' ability to keep the cake from sinking, no fat is added.

The cake requires that the egg whites be whipped until they are stiff, and gently folded into the other ingredients. For this method of leavening to work well, it is useful to have flour that has been made of softer wheat. This - and the lack of fat - causes angel food cake to have a very light texture and taste. It has led some detractors to liken the taste of the cake as well as its appearance to cotton. Angel cake cannot be cut easily with a knife, as a solid blade tends to compress the cake rather than slice it. Forks, serrated knives, or special tined cutters should be used instead.

Angel food cake is usually baked in an angel food cake pan, a tall, round pan with a tube up the center that leaves a hole in the middle of the cake. After baking, the cake pan is inverted while cooling to prevent the cake from falling in on itself. Angel food cake is sometimes frosted but more often has some sort of sauce, such as a sweet fruit sauce, drizzled over it.

The characteristics of high-quality angel cake are as follows:

Apperance: Top crust is slightly rounded; top crust is folden brown to medium brown; surface may be rough and slightly cracked.

Texture: Air cells may vary in size from small to medium; cell walls should be fairly thin.

Tenderness: Crumb is tender; the crumb "melts" in the mouth --very little resistance to bite.

Flavor: slight sweet; vanilla and/or almond flavor may be detected. Small cakes baked and eaten within a 2-hour period may have a distinct eggy flavor. This eggy flavor is lost as the cake stands for several hours.

[edit] Angel Cake in the UK

In the UK Angel Cake (also known as Angel Layer Cake) is usually sold as a rectangle shape and has three layers separated by vanilla buttercream. The layers are coloured pink, yellow and white.

Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny offers to bake Sean Connery a "beautiful angel cake" in the movie "Goldfinger".