Mini Angel Food Cakes with Fresh Strawberry Topping
Bake together. Eat together.
Who’s ready for strawberry season?
Angel food cake is made with a lot of egg whites, sugar and…air. All that air whipped into the egg whites creates a light and fluffy cake and a delicious base for fresh strawberries.
Angel food cake makes me think of springtime birthdays, Mother’s Day, and my mom. It was her favorite cake.
“Don’t go running or jumping around the house for the next hour,” she’d tell us. That meant an angel food cake was going in the oven.
I liked to watch her take the finished cake in its pan and flip it upside down — sometimes propped on an old soda bottle — until it fully cooled. That kept the cake from compressing. As a kid, looking at a cake hanging upside down in its pan was kind of hilarious.
Mom’s advice also included not opening the oven door while the cake baked. Turns out that you mess with the evenness of the oven temperature if you keep taking a peek.
For our recipe, Rebel wanted to make individual cupcakes, and I had some mini cake shell pans I wanted to try out. We also experimented with muffin tins.
We loved the individual cakes, which were perfect for strawberries and whipped cream.
Taste Test Kitchen
Before beginning, I remembered Mom’s advice to be sure the bowls and implements are clean and free of dust or oil residue, whether from something previously baked or from how they were stored. I soaped and rinsed the pans, bowls and tools just to be sure.
With angel food cake, you never grease or oil the pan. This lets the batter cling to the sides and rise.
As for our experiment with the individual servings, we had great success with the muffin tins. To serve, we cut them in half, added whipped cream and strawberries, put the tops on and added more strawberries and whipped cream.
The shells kept a gentle bowl shape, with only a slight rim (not really a shell), and were larger than the muffin-size cakes. We simply filled the one layer and drizzled strawberries and juice over the sides.
The cakes lasted 2-3 days but became sticky, so we recommend serving them the day you bake them. If you do need to store them, cover loosely but only after letting them set out for awhile to dry out after removing from the pans.
A note to ourselves for next time, we might try baking at 325º for a longer time because the small cakes bake faster than a full size cake. It’s important to bake angel food cake at a low heat and for enough time to help it dry out.
The ingredients are simple and the steps to make angel food cake are easy, but they need to be followed closely. It’s important to use cake flour (not all purpose flour).
Since the pans aren’t greased, cleanup can be tricky. Simply soak the pans for a few hours or overnight with warm soapy water, and scrub with a nylon brush or sponge.
Treat Your Mom or Yourself
If you haven’t seen your mom, family or friends in a while, treat them to a delicate angel food cake. What better way to get together again.
Send us a picture of your angel food cake and strawberry creation. We’d love to see the results. Hashtag on Instagram — #BTFBrecipes.
~ Lee
Mini Angel Food Short Cakes with Fresh Strawberry Topping
Ingredients
- 1 cup cake flour (sift before measuring)
- 1 + 1/2 cups sugar (divided) (sift before measuring)
- whites of 12 large eggs (should measure a little over 1 3/4 cups)
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 to 2 quarts fresh strawberries
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
- whipped topping
Instructions
- Bring the eggs out of the refrigerator while you set up the other ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350º. Move rack to position in lower third of oven.
- Set out two sheets of waxed paper. Sift flour and sugar before measuring to break up any clumps. Sift flour and 1/2 cup of the sugar to mix together onto one sheet. Sift again onto second sheet of waxed paper. Repeat a third time. Pour into sifter so its ready for last sifting into egg whites.
- Measure remaining 1 cup sifted sugar and set aside. Measure salt and cream of tartar into a small dish. Measure vanilla and almond flavoring together into another small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large glass or stainless steel mixing bowl of a stand or hand mixer, beat egg whites on low for about 1 minute until broken up and beginning to foam around the edges. Pause beater to add the cream of tartar, salt, vanilla, and almond flavoring. Beat on low and very gradually increase speed to medium.
- With mixer running, hold sugar near edge of bowl and gradually let sugar sprinkle over the egg whites until all the sugar is added. Stop beating and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure liquid isn't collecting below. Beat on medium speed until whites form soft peaks. This means peaks hold their shape with a slight drift at the points. The whites will look shiny and wet. Don't over beat.
- Remove bowl from mixer. Sift about 1/3 of the flour and sugar mixture all over the top of the egg whites. With a rubber spatula, fold in until flour disappears into egg whites. Scrape around the edge of the bowl once. Sprinkle and fold in another 1/3 of the flour. Repeat again and fold in just until flour is incorporated.
- Gently scoop batter into the muffin cups, mini cake pans or cake shell pans. For the cake shell pans, fill about halfway and then use a thin spatula or knife to poke the batter into the bottom edges of each cup. Continue to fill each to the top. Smooth the tops and place in the oven.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Do not open the oven while the cakes are baking as this will make the oven temperature uneven. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and the tops should spring to the touch.
- If using a shell or mini cake (bundt of angel food), immediately flip upside down and use small bowls or wooden spoons to keep pan raised above the countertop. Let cakes cool completely.
- While cakes bake, prepare strawberries so they can rest for at least 20 minutes.
- Cake is best eaten the same day, although any leftovers can be stored covered loosely for up to two days. Be sure the cakes have rested and dried out for a couple of hours before storing, and separate layers with wax paper.
- Wash and pat dry strawberries. Cut into quarters or eighths, depending on the size of the strawberries. Place in a medium-sized bowl and stir in 1 to 2 tablespoon of sugar. Set aside to let the juices draw out of the berries.
- If making whipped coconut cream or whipped cream, prepare a few minutes before serving.
Notes:
Be sure to use cake flour.
My mom's tip: clean bowls, spatula and pans of an oily residue.
For the whipped topping, we used Coco Whip by SO Delicious, which is a whipped coconut cream.
