Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Cake has been a favorite dessert of ours for a long time. It is light and not overly sweet, the perfect dessert to follow a spring meal or holiday feast. This recipe is one that a friend gave me when I first got married. I have added a touch of green, a bit of lime to brighten things up. And I garnished the cake with another favorite, coconut! While baking the angel food cake today, I felt someone looking down on me from above…who could it be? My own angel perhaps?

Lime Angel Food Cake with Coconut

1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 12)

1 1/2 tsp. cream of tarter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 cup sifted cake flour (or all purpose flour)

1 small box of lime jello

1 cup sweetened coconut

1 pint whipping cream

2 tbsp. powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Separate your eggs and place the whites in a large mixing bowl. Cover the yolks with plastic wrap and refrigerate for another use.

Beat the egg whites on medium speed. Add the cream of tarter, salt, and vanilla. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Add the granulated sugar slowly, just a few tablespoons at a time.

Sift together powdered sugar and flour. Gently fold this mixture a little at a time into the egg whites.

Gently pour 1/3 of the batter into an ungreased tube pan. Have I said the word “gently” too many times? When working with egg whites you need to be gentle or they become thin and your cake won’t turn out right.

Gently spread the batter flat with a spatula. Sprinkle a few teaspoons of lime jello on top to cover lightly.

Add another layer of batter and more jello. Don’t overdue it on the jello or the cake will not set properly. Add the last third of the batter and smooth the top flat with a spatula. Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes. Do not open the oven door. Any sort of motion may make the cake fall, and you don’t want that to happen.

It was at this point that I just had the feeling that someone was watching me. I know it is ANGEL Food Cake, but did I actually have an angel looking down on me? So I slowly looked up…

It was Sophie! Yes, she thought she would take a look to make sure I was doing it right. How did she get there? I have a baker’s rack at the end of my counter, so she climbed up, then jumped on top of the cabinets and walked over to get a good look. I think I have her approval to continue. Back to the cake…

Remove the cake from the oven carefully, it will be slightly golden and smell wonderful. Carefully invert the cake on a tall glass bottle of some sort. This will keep the cake from falling as it cools. My family thought a small spacecraft had landed in the kitchen.

While the cake is cooling, beat the whipping cream and powdered sugar at high speed with a mixer until stiff. Add about a tablespoon of jello to the coconut in a small plastic bag. Seal the top of the bag and squeeze with your fingers. The coconut will quickly turn a pretty shade of green. When completely cool, slice it and top the cake with whipped cream and green coconut. So pretty!

Serve this cake on St. Patrick’s Day, Easter or after any spring meal. Maybe you’ll have an angel watching over you…