TAKE FIVE: EASY DESSERTS USING ANGEL FOOD CAKE MIXES

[lauralie41]

Angel food cake ~ A low cholesterol, low fat light dessert that is returning to popularity after a period when they had fallen out of favor. I had great fun going through the search results for this item. You can make angel foods in any flavor, it seems, for any occasion or holiday and it is the perfect dessert. Yes, there’s even pumpkin and cranberry angels, just right for the holidays. Go through the search for yourself (after you finish this article, of course) and see what you’ve been missing!

Today’s riddle: what do angel food cakes and meatballs have in common. That’s an easy one to answer. Both can be made from scratch or store bought. The cakes can also be made from a mix. And all are a perfect canvas for a variety of dishes.

What a boon is angel food cake mix. No more separating a dozen eggs and wondering what to do with all those yolks. I confess I haven’t made an angel food cake from scratch since I was in my twenties and I won’t admit how long ago that was! I like to use the cake mix and rarely buy pre-made. Recently, however, my local Safeway came up with pre-made chocolate (chocolate!) angel food cake that is truly food for the angels. They also came up with strawberry-flavored but I wasn’t as impressed with those.

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If you are feeling ambitious and are making your own angel food cake, there are a few things to keep in mind.

* Cookbook author Jean Anderson, in an article in Cooks magazine says the first most important thing comes when separating the yolks from the whites. Do not allow one speck of yolk to remain with the whites; it will prevent the whites from whipping up properly. The broken edge of the egg shell is the best device for removing any yolk specks.

* Secondly, she cautions against overbeating the whites as overbeating causes them to become unstable which will cause the cake to collapse or not rise at all.

* Thirdly, do not bake the cake at too high a temperature. Many cookbooks recommend 350 degrees F. for baking these cakes, but that temperature causes the cake to become dry and chewy. Angel food cakes are high protein and will toughen, shrink and dry out if exposed to too much heat. Anderson prefers 300 degrees for baking these cakes which gives the cake “a thin, crisp macaroon-like crust and an interior that’s as billowy as a cumulous cloud.”

Whether making the cake from scratch or from mix, here are a few more points:,

* Reserve a tube pan exclusively for angel food cakes. Once these pans are greased, enough traces of the fat survive washing as to hinder the climb of the batter up the sides of the pan.

* For easiest slicing, use a serrated knife.

* And remember, angel food cakes are low-fat and low calorie, a truly healthful bit of dessert. But every slice takes well to whipped cream, chocolate or other sauces, ice cream, and all manner of high-fat and high-calorie additions. Choose them at your own risk! Frosting for the cake should be light and billowy,; cream cheese frosting won’t work at all. As a matter of fact, whipped cream is a perfect frosting!


So. What to do with your fresh baked or fresh bought angel food. You can top it easily with whipped cream or a sauce as I suggested above. Some cut-up fruit makes a good topper; the cake can be a great base for strawberry short cake. You can cut the cake in half horizontally and lay down a layer of mousse or custard, or ice cream on the bottom half, and replace the top half. Or you can cut off the top third of the cake, hollow out a tunnel in the bottom two-thirds (without breaking through the sides) and fill that tunnel with any of those things. One other idea. Tear the cake into chunks and embed the chunks in a mousse or pudding.

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Here are five recipes that will make you drool; the last two are perfect for the Christmas holidays.

Marlene Sorosky's Chocolate Peppermint Angel Dessert ~ Cubes of cake in a creamy mint-flavored chocolate mousse

Fruity Angel Food Cake Trifle ~ A beautiful dessert to fit in your prettiest trifle or punch bowl.

French Toast Angel Food Cake ~ Yes, French toast made from angel-food cake!

Peppermint Angel Food Cake ~ A beautiful pink and white marbled angel with peppermint flavor. What more could you want to end your Christmas dinner?

Strawberry Angel-Food Cake With Red and Green Holiday Sauces ~ Well, this one is Christmas-pretty, too. Slices of angel cake with strawberries rest in a pool of strawberry and kiwi sauces.

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What is your favorite flavor angel food cake? And what is your favorite way to serve it?

[lauralie41]

Lorraine I remember my grandma's angel food cake. She would slice it and top with fresh strawberries.....so yummy. Peppermint Angel Food Cake sounds pretty good to me!

Great topic hon! Thank you!

[Pneuma]

I like Angel food cake when making strawberry shortcake. Tastes like heaven!!!!!

[HokiesMom]

Here are two of my posted recipes using Angel Food Cake. Both have been a hit with my family and my mom actually asked me to bring one to a family gathering - a true test of yumminess - Mom's approval.

Fruity Angel Food Cake Trifle #279011
Orange Angel Food Cake #312633

Great topic!

[Sharon123]

Great tips!

Here is my posted recipe for angel food cake:

Pumpkin Angel Cake

[HokiesMom]

Oh Sharon!! That cake looks so yummy. Into my "to try from Sharon" cookbook! Yep you have a cookbook named after you.

[Sharon123]

[CoffeeB]

Great topic Laury. I had to make just such a dessert today for a shower for my niece. It's one of my own...(for once).
It uses a pre-made angel food cake, cut into cubes and layered with cherry jello, cherry pie filling, coolwhip and vanilla instant pudding. It does up real pretty in a trifle type bowl. It's really .

Cherry Dessert. #279037

[HokiesMom]

Sue - that looks so yummy! And boy do I love (did I emphasize that enough??) LOVE cherries! Into my cookbook it goes.

[CoffeeB]

I see Mel that your fruity trifle that I made last Easter is listed at the top of the page. That is another good one to have for special occasions. I feel a clear trifle bowl is key to making these angel food cake desserts look Although I do make one in a 9x13 that DH loves and includes Butterfinger candy bars chopped up. You sprinkle those over top of the cut-up angel food cake and a butterscotch type pudding mixture. Also fabulous!!!

I"m wondering about your orange angel cake you mention. Could I use mandarin oranges in place of a naval???

[HokiesMom]

CoffeeB wrote:

I"m wondering about your orange angel cake you mention. Could I use mandarin oranges in place of a naval???

YES - I do that more often than not! I drain them a while and then dry them a bit on paper towels so that the cool whip does not get runny. I like them for their size compared to peeling and segmenting a navel orange.

[DuChick]

Oh, you are all filling my head with thoughts of fluffy Angel Food cake! I made one from scratch long ago as a young chef, but wasn't impressed. Maybe it was my cooking skills, the recipe, or both. Since then, I've only used the boxed one-step mix.

My favorite thing to do to that upside down cake (while it cools on a pop bottle) is to tear the crusty topping from it and munch. Now my kids do the same. But hey, once it's removed from the pan, it sits more level on the plate!

I have got to try Susan's cherry trifle. That looks awesome!

[Bergy]

I am not into desserts very much butyou sure gave me some good ides

[Sarah_Jayne]

It is strange but apparently angel food cake isn't known in the UK. I have never seen a mix for it on sale here. I will have to bring a few boxes of it back when I next go home for a visit.