Black and white angel food cake

I never thought I'd get around to making angel food cake. Why? It's because it's a rare occasion when I actually have 12 egg whites. I usually have 5 or 6 around after making ice cream, but this time I did end up with 12. I made ice cream and pastry cream and found myself--finally--with a dozen egg whites. Angel food cake was going to happen.

I didn't want to waste this rare opportunity by making a ho-hum angel food cake. Nope, my first full fledged angel food cake was going to be glorious. And being the chocolate lover that I am, I wanted mine dripping with decadent chocolate. Where was one to find such a recipe?

Well, I found it on MyRecipes.com, and it looked very easy to make. I had originally made a caramel peanut-topped brownie cake for my husband's birthday and Father's Day, but that cake was an utter fail. I needed something to redeem myself (and to give him something to eat for his birthday) so I decided to make this black and white angel food cake. I was watching our daughter for the morning and was able to bake this cake very quickly and still had a bunch of time to play and read with our dear Addison.

My husband was ecstatic when I told him that I baked him another cake for his birthday. He was even happier when I told him that it was an angel food cake - one of his favorites. The cake was so light and fluffy that some of us (ahem) had multiple slices the day it was baked. I didn't add cream cheese to my glaze so I could keep it a little bit healthier.  And my husband added some sliced strawberries to his slice (er, slices).

Although I'm pretty bummed that my original cake for the birthday boy didn't turn out as expected, this was a fantastic replacement. I was thrilled to have both the traditional angel food cake and a bit of cocoa taste to satisfy my inner chocoholic.

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I omitted)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa (I used Hershey's Special Dark) 

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons tub light cream cheese, softened (I omitted)
• 1 tablespoon 1% low-fat milk (I used soy milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon unsweetened dark cocoa (I used Hershey's Special Dark)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°.

To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and 3/4 cup granulated sugar, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Place cream of tartar, salt, and egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in juice and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; fold in after each addition.

Spoon half of batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. Sift 2 tablespoons cocoa over remaining batter; fold in. Spoon cocoa batter evenly over top of vanilla batter; break air pockets by cutting through cocoa layer with a knife. Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert cake onto a plate.

To prepare glaze, place powdered sugar, cream cheese, milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Drizzle half of glaze over cake.

Add 3/4 teaspoon cocoa to remaining glaze; stir well to combine. Drizzle cocoa glaze over cake. Refrigerate 5 minutes or until glaze is set. Garnish with strawberries, if desired.

Yield: 12 servings (slices)

Source: MyRecipes.com; originally from Maureen Callahan in the April 2007 edition of Cooking Light