My sweet mama has long been known for her angel food cakes. I’ve actually never had anyone else’s angel food that is as good as hers.
A few years ago I realized that I had no idea how to make an angel food cake so I asked my mom to teach me.
My mom is also the only person I’ve ever known to make chocolate angel food. I’m sure other people make them too but I’ve actually never encountered another one. And I love them!
When I asked my mom to teach me she told me all I had to do was follow the recipe. Easy peasy. But she said she would be glad to supervise while I baked.
She told me where to find her recipe and when I went to get it that’s when I realized that I cook/bake like my mom.
She pointed me to the correct recipe book and told me to look it up. I found the angel food recipes. There were a few different varieties but no chocolate. When I pointed that out to my mom she pointed to the “Party Angel Food” recipe and said, “it’s this one right here”.
Imagine my confusion. A Party Angel Food has cherries and pecans in it, but absolutely no chocolate.
That’s when I knew. My mom just adjusts the recipe in her head as she goes. I’ve realized that I do that too, with most recipes. I realized it when my daughter Sophie asked for one of my recipes and I gave her a copy. Later she told me that it didn’t turn out like mine. Oh!! That’s because I automatically add a little more of this or substitute that, and I do it completely without realizing that I’m changing the whole recipe. But at least now I know that I come by it honestly.
I decided I had better write the chocolate angel food recipe down so it wasn’t just in my mom’s head. Then for Mother’s Day Sophie had it put on this ceramic plate for me, in my mom’s handwriting. ♥️
With my mom supervising my first chocolate angel food turned out famously.
My second attempt, without adult supervision tasted great but it looked a little wonky.
It took me 3-4 more attempts before I was able to get it right without adult supervision but now I’m getting pretty good at it. (If I do say so myself!)
The next problem I had was what to do with a dozen egg yolks after I made an Angel Food. Then for Father’s Day one year I decided to make frozen custard and realized it was the perfect thing to make with an angel food because my custard recipe needs those 12 egg yolks! Woot! Woot!
So below are both of my recipes. I hope you will enjoy making them as much as I do. And I hope you’ll enjoy sharing them with the people you love even more!
My Sweet Mama’s Chocolate Angel Food
- 1 Cup Self Rising Flour (**see note below for how to make this if you don’t want to buy special flour)
- 2 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
- 1 2/3 Cups Egg Whites (about a dozen eggs)
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1 Cup Sugar + 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1/2 Teaspoon Almond Extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder and 3/4 cup sugar. I don’t have a sifter so I just use a metal whisk to stir these ingredients together really well.
Next, in a large mixing bowl combine egg whites, vanilla, almond extract and cream of tartar. Use mixer to beat until stiff, adding the 1 cup of sugar—1/4 cup at a time.
Fold in flour mixture, gently by hand, 1/4 cup at a time.
Spoon into angel food cake pan until it is about 2/3 of the way full. Run a knife gently through the batter to remove excess air bubbles.
Bake for 50 minutes. Cool upside down.
**How to make 1 Cup of Self-Rising Flour:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Frozen Vanilla Custard
- 12 large egg yolks
- 1 1/3 Cups Sugar
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 2 Cups Whole Milk
- 4 Cups Heavy Cream
- 5 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt together with a mixer until the mixture turns pale yellow and fluffy.
In a large saucepan, heat milk and cream over medium heat. Stir continually to preventing sticking. Cook until the liquid starts to simmer. Remove from heat.
Add the hot liquid to the egg mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Whisk well before adding each additional 1/2 cup. This tempers the eggs slowly and keeps them from cooking.
Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight.
Pour custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufactures directions. It should take about 30 minutes to freeze. The custard will still be very soft. Transfer it to a plastic container with a lid (Rubbermaid containers work great.) Place in your freezer and allow at least 3-4 hours for it to firm up.
Drop me a comment and tell me about one of your favorite recipe. What makes it special to you?
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Thanks for dropping in and hanging out with me for a bit! It makes my heart happy! 💖
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