Mamaw LISSIE HUGHES (Abingdon, Virginia) taught through example that if you can help someone, you have an obligation to do so. Granddaughter MARZETTA FLEMING (Clintwood, Virginia) believes this value developed so strongly in her Mamaw because she grew up in Clintwood, Virginia, in a very rural, isolated area in the Appalachian Mountains where neighbors and family depended on each other. Marzetta shares that “Mamaw loved baking for her family and friends, and her angel food cake was one of our favorites. Each of her five children had a home within walking distance of Mamaw’s, and during our childhoods my cousins and I wore out the paths to her house—especially when she’d call to let us know to hurry on over for warm angel food cake. She was our touchstone, and we all felt very loved and cherished around her. And, of course, we always had Sunday dinner at her house. It’s amazing to think back on how much food she served at those dinners—fresh vegetables, deviled eggs, slaws, salads, meat, poultry, rolls, cornbread, and two or three desserts. Most of what she made came straight from her garden or livestock—chickens, milking cows, hogs, etc. She even churned her own butter.” Lizzie passed away in 1980.
12 large egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups cake flour
1 In a large bowl beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Add the cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla to the egg whites. Gradually add the sugar to the mixture while continuing to beat until stiff peaks form.
2 In a separate bowl sift the cake flour four times. Add the sifted cake flour to the egg whites mixture. Pour into an ungreased 10-inch tube cake pan. Place in a cold oven on a lower rack.
3 Turn on the oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, invert the cake, and allow to cool upside down in the pan for approximately 3 hours. When ready to slice, turn the pan over and run a knife around the edges to loosen before turning the cake over onto a serving dish and slicing.
MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS.
NOTE: Be careful not to get any egg yolks mixed in with the egg whites. Yolk will prevent the whites from whipping up the way you need them to. Make sure to use cake flour; it’s lighter than regular flour. Don’t grease your pan, or the cake can fall out when you turn it upside down to cool. Humidity can affect the height of your angel food cake, so plan ahead, and don’t bake on a rainy day.