Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Barefoot Contessa's Black and White Angel Food Cake

Do you remember when I said I had 15 egg whites in the freezer?
Well, I don't anymore and these pictures are the proof.

I have been wanting to make a angel food cake for awhile now, but haven't ever been able to accumulate enough egg whites-whose yolks were being used, to make a full-sized one.

Thanks to the lime curd, multiple ice creams and so on, I finally had enough egg whites and a reason to make the cake.

I was providing the desserts for a church gathering( I ended up making 7 desserts) and most of the treats I made were smaller, individual sized items, but I really thought this was a great time to make the angel food cake.
I don't really ever watch tv, but somehow I happened upon the food network and an episode of the Barefoot Contessa was playing. She was making this angel food cake. She made it look so easy and also said something about how angel food cake needs a little sprucing up and after watching her grate the semi-sweet chocolate and add it to the batter- I completely believed her.
Plain old angel food cake was not going to do.
I needed to make her cake with the tiny shreds of semi-sweet chocolate in the batter and the decadent ganache on top.
I didn't really have time to get a great photo of this, but it turned out absolutely perfect. I was kinda scared because the day I made this it was raining cats and dogs and I was paranoid that somehow that was going to make my cake deflate or ruin the texture, but it was perfect.
I also like that she has you measure out the amount of egg whites, instead of using an exact number.
This recipe was easy and so delicious. I thought the ganache on top was the perfect way to finish it off.
So, if you have 11 or 12 egg whites in the fridge or freezer, here is a way to put them to good use.
I actually can't wait until I have that many to use again, because this cake is delicious!


Recipe for Black and White Angel Food Cake

Video of The Barefoot Contessa making Black and White Angel Food Cake

One Year Ago-Brown Sugar- Pecan Shortbread

9 comments:

April said...

I have made this too, and I loved it!! Looks great!

GF Gidget said...

Holy Crud! Hmmm... I think a mix of sorghum and tapioca flours would be best for a GF version. I'll have to work on it.

Barbara said...

Gosh, does that ever look good. I copied her recipe but haven't tried it yet. Now I can't wait for an event to make it!

Cook the Books said...

I keep hoping the Barefoot Bloggers will do this one soon! It looks delicious.

Eliana said...

Ina has some great recipes and this one is no different. Looks like you executed it beautifully.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I held my breath when you were making this, but look how well it turned out! I'll keep this beautiful cake in mind, as I seem to be accumulating egg whites at a dizzying pace these days. I love plain angel food cake, but the ganache would be fab with it.

Anonymous said...

I either end up making egg white omelettes/scrambles or throw away the whites. This sounds like a more delicious alternative. YUM.

AmyRuth said...

Wow that's an amazing looking cake and a great use of your resources. I have made angel food only once and I was so excited. Early baking days. I think its delicious and so now you have inspired me to make again. Only problem is I eat egg whites. Lovely cake Mary!

Megan said...

I've got so many egg whites in the freezer, I've lost count of them.

I made regular angel food cake, and a chocolate version, but never quite like this. I'll have to give it a try!

I just made Ina's lemon cake yesterday (with a bunch of lemons that were about to go bad) and all of her recipes always turn out perfect.