With Christmas just around the corner I’ve been thinking of things to bake, I’m not a fan at all of the traditional fruit cake, it’s just too heavy for me. But angel food cake, now this is the yummiest lightest cake you will ever try, it was the main cake for the gorgeous neutral dessert table that I worked on with Coralee, All the Frills and Toodles Noodles a while ago. This light airy and oh so delicious cake would be the perfect way to end a family Christmas lunch or dinner with some sweet fresh berries sprinkled on top for a little Christmas cheer. x
Click read more for the recipe.

Angel Food Cake

Adapted by Marta Stewart
1 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
12 egg white, room temperature
1 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
Preheat oven to 180°C. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and set aside. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites on a medium-high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form, continue to beat while you gradually add in the sugar and then the vanilla essence - beat until stiff peaks have formed.
In four batches, sift in the flour over the egg white mixture - and fold together using a rubber spatular by cutting down the mixture and coming up the sides, making sure that you don’t ‘deflate’ the mixture by over working it. Repeat until all the flour has been added.
Gently spoon the batter into an ungreased angle food cake pan - with a removable bottom; smooth top. Then cut a knife through the batter to release any air bubbles and very gently smooth out the batter. Bake for around 35-40minutes or until the cake golden brown and springs back when lightly touched do not test with a skewer, it will sink if you do!
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 1 hour - its best if you can elevate the pan on top of something (not straight onto a wire rack) strange, but like this. After an hour, gently run a knife around the inside of the pan and around the tube to release the cake - you might also have to run a knife along the top/base to separate it from the bottom of the pan. Gently place onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before icing.

Seven Minute Icing

This icing is amazing, it’s fluffy light and so perfect with a angel food cake. I tweaked mine a little to make it drizzle, you don’t have to do this, but if you do make sure you serve and eat it immediately it wont keep well as the icing turns to set jelly. 

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

1 tablespoons glucose - light corn syrup

1/4 cup warm water

6 large egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla essence

Combine caster sugar, glucose, water and egg whites in a heatproof bowl of an electric mixer and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Continue to whisk until mixture reaches 160°C on a candy thermometer - or until the egg whites are hot to touch and the mixture is very runny. Using a whisk attachment, add vanilla and beat mixture on high until it’s thick, glossy and tripled in size. Use immediately if you want your icing to be nice and fluffy - if you want to have the drizzle effect, place the bowl back over the pot of simmering water until it just starts to soften and then using a pallet knife gently ice your cake and serve immediately.