Strawberry Angel-Food Cake With Red and Green Holiday Sauces

Lorraine of AZ's Note:

This is a perfectly beautiful dessert for the holiday season. Strawberry-studded slices of angel-food cake nestle in pools of festive red and green sauces. This is a wonderful dessert for a ladies luncheon or after a heavy dinner as it is light and airy and low in fat--an unusual feature for a holdiay dessert! This treasure of a recipe came from "Vegetarian Times" 15 years ago. Note that cooling the cake is not figured into the times. For a time-saving step, see NOTE at the end of recipe.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

Cake

• 1 cup sifted white flour
• 1 cup superfine sugar, divided
• 10 egg whites
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh strawberries (May use frozen)

Sauces

• 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (May use frozen)
• 1 cup honey, divided
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch or 2 tablespoons arrowroot, divided
• 2 cups peeled and sliced kiwi fruits
• fresh kiwi fruit, chopped, as garnish (optional)
• fresh strawberries, as garnish (may use frozen) (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Have at hand a 10-inch ungreased tube pan.
2. To make the cake: Sift together flour and 1/2 cup of the sugar into a large bowl. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar; continue beating until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in flour-sugar mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Fold in vanilla and strawberries which have been sliced as thinly as possible.
4. Pour batter into tube pan, being sure you have not greased the pan. Spread evely and deflate any large air pockets with a knife. Bake 40 minutes or until cake is lightly browned and springy. Invert pan and let cake cool 40 minutes. Remove cake from pan and set on a serving plate.
5. To make the sauces: In a blender, combine strawberries, 1/2 cup honey and 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot. Puree until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and heat, whisking, until slightly thickened. Pour into a bowl and let cool.
6. Press kiwifruit through a strainer to remove seeds. In a blender, combine strained kiwifruit with remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot and 1/2 cup honey. Puree until smooth. Pour sauce into a clean saucepan and heat, whisking, until slightly thickened. Pour into a bowl to let cool.
7. To serve: Ladle a small amount of red sauce on half of a dessert plate, and an equal amount of green sauce on the other half. Place a slice of cake in the center and garnish the green side with a few pieces of kiwi and garnish the red side with a few pieces of strawberry. Alternately, you can omit the fruit and drizzle the cake with stripes of the two sauces. Serve immediately.
8. NOTE: I have made this with packaged angel food cake mix omitting the strawberries in the cake (although they certainly could be included). Instead of garnishing with pieces of fruit on each side of cake slice, I put them right on top of cake, allowing a few to spill over the sides.
9. Cake may be made a day ahead. If you make the sauces ahead, reheat them until pourable at serving time They are good served warm on the plate.
10. This cake is only 222 calories a serving!