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Elise's Angel Food Cake with Raspberry Curd

Source of Recipe

From "A Good Meal is Hard to Find" by Amy Evans and Martha Foose


Recipe Introduction

"Elise did want something different; she wanted a piece of cake. But her grandmother insisted on making her signature birthday Jell-O mold. Again. It was pretty, she had to admit, but she simply couldn't abide the texture. Elise longed for a beautiful cake�any kind of cake would do�with dainty florets covering the top and a thick layer of raspberry hidden inside. But she didn't dare hurt her grandmother's feelings. So Elise enjoyed the party, as well as the birthday Jell-O mold, biding her time before she could enjoy the contraband cake hidden in the hatbox at the top of her bedroom closet."

List of Ingredients

Cake:
◦ 12 large egg whites, at room temperature (reserve 8 yolks for the raspberry curd)
◦ 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
◦ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
◦ � teaspoon fine sea salt
◦ 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
◦ 1 cup cake flour

Raspberry Curd:
◦ One 12-ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed and mashed
◦ 1 cup granulated sugar
◦ 8 large egg yolks
◦ � cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
◦ Pinch of fine sea salt
◦ 10 tablespoons (1 � sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces

For serving:
◦ Fresh raspberries
◦ Sweetened whipped cream, if desired


Recipe

To make the cake:
Heat your oven to 350� F. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whip your egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt at medium-low speed until they begin to change from clear to opaque. Increase the speed to medium. When you see the beaters leave distinct trails through the whites, it is time to increase the speed to high. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the sugar. Continue to whip until medium-stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overwhip your whites. You don't want them to be broken or too stiff. When the peaks are perky and just slightly limp over at the top when you lift the beaters, you are there. This allows the whites to swell nicely when baked and give the cake a lovely crumb.

Sift ⅓ cup of the flour over your whipped egg whites. Gently fold in the flour with a large flexible spatula until just incorporated. Repeat twice with the remaining flour, ⅓ cup at a time, making sure to get the spatula down to the very bottom of the bowl. Fold the batter until you don't see any pockets of flour.

Spoon your batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan or 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350� F for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cake is golden and well-rise and springs back when touched lightly. Immediately invert your cake but leave it in the pan. Let it cool completely.

To make the raspberry curd:
Press the berries through a mesh strainer and into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, reserving the juice and discarding the seeds and pulp. Whisk your sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, and salt into the raspberry juice. Add the butter. Cook over medium heat while continuously whisking. Heat for 5 minutes, or until the curd just begins to bubble. It will thicken as it cools. Pour the curd into a container and press food wrap against the surface to prevent a skin from forming or rub a little cold butter over the surface to make a film.

Loosen the cake from the edges and center of the pan with a long, sharp knife. Be sure to use a serrated or angel food cake knife with a sawing motion to cut the cake. Serve with raspberry curd, fresh raspberries, and, if using, whipped cream.

Makes one 10-inch cake ring






❧ Notes:

� When folding your flour into your egg whites, use the widest flexible spatula you have. Be sure to turn the bowl as you run the spatula around the edges, dipping down to the bottom of your bowl and folding the whites over the flour.

� If your cake pan rests flat on the counter when inverted, set it with the center of the pan on a can to let air circulate and keep your cake from sweating and weeping.

� An antique sterling silver angel food cake knife, along with a copy of this recipe and a baked angel food cake, makes for a lovely hostess gift.