1-Year Blog Anniversary and Angel Food Cake

It's hard to believe one year ago today I posted my first entry on this blog. So much has happened since then. I've met many amazing foodies and improved my baking and cooking skills. As well I've found a new love: photography. I want to thank all of you who read and comment and support my passion for food. It's been a blast!

To mark this occasion, I made an angel food cake. I've always wanted to make one from scratch since I've only ever made the boxed version before. My aunt used to make angel food cake for her daughters' birthdays, and I always looked forward to my piece topped with Seven-Minute Frosting. I was surprised at how easy it actually was to make this cake from scratch.

I used the recipe from Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe cookbook. As well, I used the Multi-Tier Cake Pan that I received as a gift from my parents. I lined the bottom of the pan with a round piece of parchment paper and didn't spray it. [Next time, I would try spraying it since it didn't come out of the pan as easily as I'd hoped.]

Recipe

I halved the recipe and made three mini multi-tier cakes.

1 cup sifted cake flour (3 ounces)
1½ cups sifted granulated sugar (10½ ounces)
12 large egg whites (1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons), at room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon table salt
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon almond extract
Zest from 1 lemon
Other angel food cakes:
You can find the recipe and method for angel food cake at the following blogs:

Baking Bites' Perfect Angel Food Cake
Ward Street Bistro's Angel Food Cake 101

Glaze
14 ounces white chocolate
½ cup heavy cream

Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes and then spread over the chilled cake. Using a metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.

Coconut Whipped Cream Frosting
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut (½ cup coconut, toasted, for decorating)

Whip cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat until cream holds peaks. Fold in ½ cup coconut.

Thanks for visiting and making this a wonderful year for me!

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