Freckled Angel

Submitted by P48422

"My favorite angel food cake - chocolate and espresso making it my favorite flavors! This is wonderful served with a cup of coffee, or with hot fudge sauce and a scoop of chocolate ice cream for something really decadent."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 1 10inch inch cake

ingredients

• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1 1⁄3 cups cake flour, sifted (no subs, please!)
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1 3⁄4 cups egg whites, room temperature (12 large, approx.)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon white vinegar or 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 3⁄4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3⁄4 cup good quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (please don't use milk-chocolate - it won't taste right)

directions

1. Oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour the vinegar into the bowl of your mixer, and using a paper towel, wipe down the entire bowl with the vinegar, then wiping the bowl dry with the towel.
3. Use the vinegar soaked towel to wipe down your whip attachment, too, and attach to the mixer.
4. Sift together the espresso powder, cake flour, and salt.
5. Set aside.
6. Put the whites into the mixer bowl.
7. Whip the whites on medium speed until frothy, then increase the speed to high and slowly start to add the granulated sugar a little at a time until it is all incorporated.
8. Continue to whip the whites until they are stiff but still shiny- about 3-4 minutes.
9. Egg whites that are room temperature will whip far better than cold ones.
10. Stop the mixer and remove the bowl.
11. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and fold very gently into the batter.
12. Start adding the flour mixture, folding very gently, until all of it has been added, then add the chocolate and gently fold in until the chips are spread through the batter and the flour is evenly mixed into the whites.
13. Do not overmix.
14. Pour the batter into 10" angel food cake pan, ungreased and cut rhrough it a few times with a butter knife to break any air pockets.
15. Bake about 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer insetted in the middle comes out clean.
16. Invert the cake on a rack and let it cool upside down in the pan.
17. Unmold the cake, let cool.
18. Slice with a serrated knife.
19. Excellent served with hot fudge sauce and a sprinkle of cocoa powder.

Reviews

[moxie]

This is such an elegant and sophisticated cake. The contrast of the sweet cake with the bittersweet chocolate and the bite of the espresso is wonderful, and the texture is somehow softer than a traditional angel food cake. I made it once with the instant espresso, and once with instant coffee. I did crush the coffee crystals in my mortar and pestle so they would have a mimic the texture of the espresso powder. Honestly, I could not tell the difference in the two cakes, so I think the substitution is fine if instant espresso is a challenge to find where you live. Thank you for sharing the wonderful recipe.

 

[TommyGato]

I also love chocolate and espresso and compliment PetitFour's sophistication in serving her espresso with a twist of lemon. All these aromas and flavors contribute to a wonderful angel cake. About the freckles, I found that the smaller pieces worked very well but the larger chunks settled to the bottom more like moles. Next time I might use semisweet mini chips or chop my bittersweet more evenly. I'll confess a major substitution: Being short on time, I used an angel cake mix and included 3oz. of freshly brewed espresso in the 1 1/4 cups of water called for on the box. After mixing per directions, I followed this recipe exactly beginning with Step 11. This recipe worked incredible wonders for the cake mix. I look forward to making it again--from scratch when I have the time. Finally, I agree that serving this with a chocolate or fudge sauce is about as good as it gets. I also think this cake would make a great base for a tiramisu. Thank you very much for posting the recipe!!

 

[Lulu B]

Be still my heart and all other organs, tis truly delicious, in line with Tommygato's comment I pared some caillebaut dark bitter as thinly as I could and it was wonderful, for some reason not yet explainable to me, I decided to make some creme anglaise to serve with it and it was a major sellout, your cake was such an inspiration, thank you LuluB