Ruhlman�s Angel Food Cake
Source of Recipe
�Ruhlman�s Twenty� by Michael Ruhlman
Recipe Introduction
The full title of this recipe is �Michael Ruhlman�s Angel Food Cake with Whipped Cream and Toffee�, but there isn�t enough room in the title field. I was lucky enough to be asked to do some pre-publication recipe testing for this book and this was one of the recipes that I tried. I�ve made it 5 or 6 times since the first time and had good luck each and every time. It is a wonderful cake � tastes fantastic and has a great texture. I don�t always do the whipped cream and toffee. It goes very well with a drizzle of Michael�s caramel sauce (a Shook family tradition).
List of Ingredients
TOFFEE:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
CAKE:
1 1/2 c. sugar
Scant 1 c. cake flour
10 large egg whites
1/2 t. cream of tartar
1 T. lemon juice
2 t. vanilla extract
Kosher salt
WHIPPED CREAM:
2 c. heavy cream
1 � 2 T. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. Frangelico liqueur (optional)
GARNISH:
2 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Recipe
TOFFEE:
Line a cooky sheet with parchment paper. Place the sugar and butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir to make sure that it cooks evenly. When it begins to froth and brown, stir occasionally until it reaches a caramel color � 5 to 10 minutes (or about 300 degrees). Pour it onto the paper and allow to cool. You may have some butterfat breaking out of the toffee � this is fine, just blot it up.
CAKE:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a pan. [I diverge a bit here from Michael � he suggests using a springform pan with a heatproof glass placed in the middle. I prefer to use a tube pan - the bottom lined with parchment paper].
In a food processor combine 3/4 cup of sugar and the flour and pulse a few times. In the bowl of a stand mixer, at high speed, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar, lemon juice, vanilla and a three finger pinch of salt. Whisk on high. Slowly add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar. When the egg whites reach the soft peak stage, stop whisking and begin to fold in the flour/sugar mixture by hand. Fold in gently until completely mixed in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until it passes the toothpick test (actually a long skewer is better for such a thick cake), 40 � 50 minutes. Invert the pan over a bottle and cool completely (1 hour or more). Remove from pan.
WHIPPED CREAM:
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high until the cream holds its shape.
PUTTING THE CAKE TOGETHER:
Coarsely chop the toffee and mix all but 2 tablespoons gently into the whipped cream. Cut the cake into two equal layers. Frost between the layers, up the sides and over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of toffee and the shaved chocolate.
Obviously, you'll need to store any uneaten cake in the refrigerator if you frost it with the whipped cream.
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