Angel food cake is a dessert that has relatively few ingredients, but takes a fair amount of planning. The light, downy-soft texture of the cake and fantastic flavor make it worth it, though, because you will never buy an angel food cake that tastes this good at the supermarket. This cake is sweet, moist and nearly melts into your mouth. Eat it straight out of hand or top it with strawberries, whipped cream or lemon curd.

To make the cake, your eggs whites will have to be separated and brought to room temperature. It is easier to separate eggs when they are cold because the yolk is much less likely to break and contaminate the whites. The best way to separate eggs is to use multiple bowls, breaking and separating the eggs before transferring the white to the rest of the whites. This way, a broken yolk will not ruin a dozen egg whites. When the egg whites are at room temperature before you begin to beat them, they will achieve a much greater volume, giving you a higher, lighter cake.

The other time-consuming component of this cake is the time it takes to cool it. The cake must be cooled completely before it is removed from the pan. As a result, I recommend cooking the cake the night before you wish to serve it. You could do it all in one day, but this frees you up to do other things during the inactive time.

Here is the timeline:
Day one morning: Separate eggs. Cover with plastic wrap and bring to room temperature.
Day one evening: Prepare and bake cake. Let cool overnight.
Day two: Share and enjoy!

The Best Angel Food Cake
(recipe from The Best Recipe)
1 1/2 cups egg whites (10-12 large), room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided (superfine sugar is ideal)
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 325F.
In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar and the cake flour. Set aside.
Place egg whites in a large bowl and beat until frothy, then the add cream of tartar and salt. Beat at medium speed until cream of tartar is fully incorporated, then begin to add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar a few tablespoons at a time. When sugar has been added, beat egg whites to soft peaks (for guidelines on beating egg whites, click here). Once you have soft peaks, add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat for a few seconds to incorporate.

With a sieve, sift the flour/sugar mixture over the egg whites in 6-8 additions (depending on your proficiency with folding flour into egg whites), gently folding the mixture in after each addition. Take your time. 
Spoon batter evenly into an ungreased 9-inch tube pan with a removable bottom. Smooth the top with a spatula and tap the pan on the counter two or three times to ensure that there are no large air bubbles in the batter.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed. Mine generally take 55-60 minutes.
Remove from oven and immediately invert pan over a bottle. Allow to cool completely before attempting to remove the cake from the pan.
When ready to remove the cake, gently run a thin, sharp knife around the sides of the pan. Lift the cake out, then run the knife around the bottom and center of the pan to release the cake. Invert onto a large plate, then re-invert onto a serving platter or cake stand.
Serves 12.

[Photos by Nicole Weston]