Spring angel food cake
10-inch angel food cake: 1 cup sifted cake flour 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 12 egg whites, about 1 1/2 to 2 cups 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup granulated sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 teaspoon almond extract Filling and icing: 1 pint strawberries, more or less 3 cups heavy whipping cream 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup lemon curd (see recipe) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour and confectioners' sugar 3 times. Place egg whites in large bowl of electric mixer. Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until white are frothy. Add sugar 2 tablespoons at a time, beating at high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Add flour mixture a little at a time, folding it in after each addition. Blend in vanilla and almond extract. Spoon batter into ungreased 10-inch angel food cake pan. Pull a metal knife through the batter once to break up large air bubbles. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until cake is golden and springs back when lightly touched with your fingers. Invert the tube pan onto a funnel or bottle to cool. When completely cooled, gently run a knife around edge and center to remove cake. Place cake on plate. Wash and hull strawberries. Chop them, but not too small. Beat whipping cream in a bowl until fluffy. Slowly add sugar while beating until stiff peaks form. Put 2 to 3 cups of whipped cream in a smaller bowl; add strawberries. Fold them in, then set aside. Use a serrated knife to slice cake horizontally into 3 equal layers. Set bottom layer on a decorative serving plate. Spread it with half of the lemon curd. Top with a layer of strawberry cream. Top berries with middle layer of cake. Repeat lemon curd and strawberry layers. Top with remaining cake layer, pressing gently. Use remaining sweetened whipped cream to ice cake. Serves 10. Note: The cake slices more easily if it's allowed to stand several hours. Use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to slice cake. Don't be surprised if you need to wipe the knife frequently as you slice. Easy variations: Use only 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, for the strawberry layer, and serve the cake without icing. You can also leave out the lemon curd, though it is delicious. Nutritional data with lemon curd for 10 servings: 595 calories, 33 grams fat, 9 grams protein, 68 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber. Without lemon curd: 470 calories, 25 grams fat, 7 grams protein, 57 grams carbohydrate, 1gram fiber. _____ Lemon curd 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 egg yolks 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (yellow part of peel) In a heavy non-aluminum saucepan (or the top of a non-aluminum double boiler), combine butter, sugar, lemon juice and egg yolks. Cook over lowest heat (or simmering water), stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to heavily coat the back of a spoon. Do not let the mixture boil or it will curdle. Pour the lemon curd into a small bowl. Stir in the lemon zest. Refrigerate until ready to use. Makes 1 cup. Nutritional data for 10 servings: 125 calories, 8 grams fat, 2 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrate, less than 1 gram fiber. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/O.5XsA/8WnJAA/E2hLAA/QXMplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAKE-RECIPE/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
