Santa Baby Angel Food Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
- 1 cup caster or superfine sugar, divided
- 3/4 cup cake flour
- Pinch salt
- 1 1/4 cups egg whites (about 7 egg whites), no yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Buttercream
- 250g/8.83ozs buttercream, at room temperature
- 125g/4.4ozs. caster or superfine sugar
- 75ml/2.65fl ozs. room temperature water
Baker's tips: start with room temperature eggs egg whites. If it is cold where you are, then submerge the eggs in a bowl of hot water-this will help them whip up to their full potential. If you have fresh duck eggs, these are even better because they whip up even more because of the higher protein content (which is why I put the egg whites as a cup measurement). When you separate your eggs, make sure that there is no trace of yolk. Make sure that your mixing bowl and beaters are spotlessly clean too.
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F and have an ungreased 20cm/8inch chiffon or angel food tin ready (do not grease!). Sift the flour, 1/2 a cup of sugar (you will use the other half for the egg whites) and salt together four times. Set aside.
Step 2 - Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl with the cream of tartar and whip on a medium high speed until you get soft peaks. Then gradually pour in the sugar while it is mixing and the vanilla and whip until you get stiff peaks.
Step 3 - Fold in the flour into the egg mixture in 4-5 batches (I sift it in) making sure to catch the flour at the bottom of the bowl. Don't worry if the mixture deflates somewhat, it will deflate but it is important to mix through the flour properly. Spoon into the tin and then tap against the counter firmly but gently to get rid of any large air bubbles. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back lightly when pressed. Cool in the tin and then use a palette knife to loosen the sides and then the base. Cool completely and place on a serving plate.
Step 4 - Take the butter and beat it on a low speed with an electric mixer for 5 minutes-the saying is "Whip it til its white" where the yellow butter will turn whiter. Then add the sugar and water in two lots beating for a total of 10 minutes. You should not feel any sugar crystals between your fingers.
Step 5 - Reserve 6 tablespoons of buttercream. Take two bowls and divide the buttercream into 3 tablespoon portions and colour one red and the other green. Spread the white buttercream over the whole cake with a palette knife. Then take the end of a teaspoon and dab the two colours on the side of the cake-I start on the back of the cake just to test the pressure, you want to use a bit of pressure there. Then decorate it with candy canes and chocolate truffles. I also used this Santa Baby cake topper from Little Event Boutique!. Isn't it gorgeous? Serve with fresh berries and an egg nog custard (recipe here).