1 of 4

Write now Article Tools

Where Angel Food Cake began might be a little confusing, but there is no denying that the fluffy elegant white cake is a favorite of many. Loving old recipes and traditional home made cooking, it is only natural for me to have collected a few old fashioned recipes for Angel Food Cake along the way. I have divided this article into several sections, starting with a brief bit of history on the angel food cake, then offering up a few recipes (both fast from a box and an old favorite from scratch recipe modified to include pineapple), then I have a recipe for a wonderful glaze and other pineapple toppings and finish the article off with a few tips for those who might be a little less familiar with how to make and serve this airy treat.

A BRIEF BIT OF HISTORY:

Some feel that the Angel Food cake originated in the Pennsylvanian Dutch region, attesting to a large number of molds for the Angel Food Cake that can be found in that region and the similarity to the Pennsylvania Dutch wedding cake. I have never had any Pennsylvania Dutch wedding cake, so I do not know just how similar the two are. What I do know is that recipes for the Angel Food Cake, or at least cakes that can be considered very very similar to what we know as Angel Food Cake today, can be found in cookbooks such as 'Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book, and Companion for Frugal and Economical' [1871]. In the New Southern Cookery Book the following recipe is given for Snow Cake [Pg 223]:

"Three cupsful of flour, two cupsful of sugar, one-half a cupful of butter, one cupful of sweet milk, the whites of five eggs beaten to a stiff froth, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one-half a teaspoonful of soda; sift the flour, and do not pack it when measuring it."

No baking instructions are given for this cake, but it could be presumed to be baked in a hot oven just as one would bake an angel food cake. This is seen by many as possibly being an early recipe for angel food cake. The use of beaten eggs in cake recipes is explained in 'The Book of Household Management' [1861] by Mrs. Isabella Beeton:

In the section titled 'A FEW HINTS respecting the Making and Baking of CAKES' Mrs. Beeton says: "...As eggs are used instead of yeast, they should be very
thoroughly whisked; they are generally sufficiently beaten when thick enough to carry the drop that falls from the whisk."

This technique, and the introduction of baking soda, are considered to be a possible source of the origin of this heavenly cake.

The earliest recipe

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Recipes: Pineapple angel food cake?
We want to hear your view. Write now!