Two Thirds of an Angel Food Cake

You can buy cartons of egg whites at the store, but you can't buy egg yolks. Whatever the reason, it is quite unfortunate since I often find myself in an "egg white" dilemma. I tend to make foods that use only the egg yolks and I'm at a loss for what to do with the whites.

I fool myself into thinking I will use the reserved egg whites soon to make an omelet, only to have them sit in the fridge for questionably too long (even for me) and I end up throwing them out. Sure, there are always the crispy-chewy meringue recipes that use egg whites, but then I have to bake them for hours and hours. And regular fluffy meringue just doesn't do anything for me: the tart or pie or baked-Alaska was just fine without the meringue layer.

My favourite egg white usage is probably Angel Food Cake. The problem is, it usually calls for a ridiculous 10 or 12 egg whites.

Fortunately, Alton Brown has a recipe, and as always, his incredibly scientific recipes are written with both volume and weight measurements. The recipe calls for 12 egg whites. For 4 egg whites, I can easily divide the recipe by 3 and make a third of an angel food cake; for 6 egg whites, half of a cake; for 8 egg whites, two thirds of a cake. You get the picture.

Dustin's birthday was last week. Although busy and tired with our beautiful newborn, Dustin agreed to watch her for a few extra hours the day before his birthday so I could prepare food for a birthday brunch with a bunch of our friends and their kids.

The brunch menu consisted of all make-ahead food: crepes with fruit and yogurt, low fat blueberry muffins, and my favourite brunch item: Alton Brown's Overnight Cinnamon Rolls. They are made the day before, stored in the fridge until the next morning, then proofed and baked so they are fresh. They are fantastic. Stop what you are doing and go make some. Now.

Oh. Right. Back to the egg whites. The (fantastic) cinnamon bun recipe calls for 4 egg yolks. I doubled the recipe, and was therefore left with 8 egg whites. Time to make a two thirds of a cake!

I love angel food cake. Sugary, light and fluffy, fat-free. Perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert. For this two thirds of a cake, I decided to grate some lime zest into it. Alton has a version with cloves and cinnamon. Ina has a recipe with grated chocolate. Possibilities are endless. Just gently fold the flavouring into the light fluffy batter!

Here is the recipe in weight, rather than volume. If you don't have a scale, then shame on you. Pick one up at Canadian Tire for $10 and open up your cookbook library to great British recipes!

One third of an Angel Food Cake (adapted from Alton Brown's book, I'm Just Here for More Food)

NOTE: This recipe has been scaled to use 4 egg whites and will make one third of a cake. 12 egg whites make a full sized cake in a regular sized tube pan.


131g sugar
pinch of salt
43g sifted cake flour

4 large egg whites (120g) at room temperature
28g warm water
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the salt and cake flour with half of the sugar and set aside. If you are adding any additional flavourings (spices or grated zest) combine into the flour mixture.

Using the whisk attachment on an electric mixer, beat the egg whites, water, and cream of tartar until opaque. Slowly sift in the remaining sugar and beat until you get medium to stiff peaks.

Sift in enough of the flour mixture to dust the top of the foam. Fold in gently using a spatula. Repeat until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Carefully spoon the mixture into an ungreased tube pan. Bake for 15 - 20 mins for this 1/3 size cake, 25 minutes for 2/3 of a cake (8 egg whites) and 35 minutes for a full sized cake (12 egg whites). Check for doneness with a toothpick (or an uncooked spaghetti noodle).

Cool upside down on a cooling rack for an hour before removing from the pan.

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