Angel food cake

Cooking is in my heritage.  From my great grandmother to my mother, they've all been very good.

My mother:  Great cook!  She's made sure I have been well nourished since birth.  Age doesn't deter her.  She'll still ask about what I've had to eat to this day.  Considering she worked full time, had three babies, and still made sure we had food in our bellies?  That deserves a gold star in my book.  She's my hero.

My Nana:  Unbelievable!  I've never seen anyone put together a meal as effortlessly like she can.  And it's all so delicious!  Take her two dessert specialities - fudge brownies and cheesecake.  I'm sure half of our family's weight can be traced back to these two things.  Nana's always made sure we had our fill.  She's a natural.

Granny (Nana's mother):  This lady I never knew.  However, with 8 children and family who always loved to just stop by, you can guarantee she knew how to prepare a meal. 

Jump on over to the other side of my family tree (Dad's side) and you find my Mamaw:

[Sometime in her 20s]

This lady can cook.  Anything.  And make it taste like butter in your mouth.  Most recipes she just has in her head.  Especially her tried and true ones.

She's also the baker of my most favorite cake ever. The cake I always requested for my birthday and prayed she'd have at family functions.

Angel food cake.

But this angel food cake is like none other. It's super moist and has more flavor than any store bought brand ever will.  It's like the angels sing from above when you eat it.  Hence, the name.

So one day, armed with the recipe, I headed to her house to find out her secret tweaks.  The ones she'll only remember when making the cake.  I also needed to show proof of why Angel Food is my favorite cake to my husband.  At the time, he wasn't a believer.

[Me - 1985.  Three years old in Mamaw's kitchen.]

Batter has always been a weakness.

We cooked.  She taught.  I learned.  She threw out secrets that I prayed I'd remember.  Later that afternoon, I carried the prize winning cake home to my husband.  He converted.

Then ate 4 pieces in a row.

He would have eaten the entire thing, but I beat him to it.

A couple months later, I braved up to bake an Angel Food cake all by myself.

In my new non-stick Angel Food cake pan.

Only, it didn't rise like it should.  It's also not supposed to be that brown on the sides.

When we inverted the pan over a bottle, the cake slide right out over the bottle and onto my helping man's hands.  It was a slight disaster, but we still ate it.

I later consulted my grandmother and she confirmed that the pan I was using wasn't the best.  Non-stick will lead to browning too quickly.  You also want the cake to "climb up the sides" of the pan and it can't be non-stick for that to happen.

Enter the new pan.  {Click on that to purchase one for yourself.}  I like it because it has feet for propping the cake upside down.  Aluminum (like my Mamaw has) and it's definitely NOT non-stick.

Worked like a charm!

Mamaw has perfected the art of knowing when something is just done.  Not too done, not done enough, but rather just right.  When I inverted this cake upside down on the counter, part of the top fell off.  (The top is really on the bottom when you put it on a cake plate...)  That's when I realized it wasn't done enough.

So, we put the cake back in the oven and scraped up the other part for Macy.  It was her lucky, lucky day.

A few minutes later, the extra baking was complete!

We didn't even wait the full two hours before cutting in to her.

Mamaw's recipe is McCall's Best Angel Food Cake.  You only have to separate 13 egg whites.  But it's worth it.  The directions are very specific, but Mamaw would add a few other tips for you:

1.  Don't over beat your eggs.  (This is true for scrambled eggs as well.)  It will make your eggs tough.

2.  If a little flavoring is good, more is better.

3.  Don't bake Angel Food Cake when it's raining or damp outside.  It won't rise as well.

4.  She removes her cakes soon after the top splits in the oven.

Those are top secret tips, so don't tell anyone.  Okay?!

Oh!  And if you're an angel food lover like myself, I'll be happy to pass on the recipe.  You've just gotta speak up and ask!  :)

You won't be sorry.