Dissolve 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder in 2 tablespoons boiling water, and beat it into batter along with the vanilla for a mocha cake.Light and airy angel food cake takes very well to being flavored with cocoa powder, and cocoa powder delivers a lot of chocolate flavor for very few calories. Top this cake with fruit salad or a more indulgent treat such as chocolate mousse.
Yield: 8 servings
Active time: 20 minutes
Start to finish: 21/2 hours
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
10 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Rinse out a tube pan and shake it over the sink, but do not wipe it dry. Set aside.
2. Sift together cocoa, potato starch, white rice flour, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum with 1/4 cup of sugar. Set aside.
3. Place egg whites in a grease-free bowl and beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating, raising the speed to high, until soft peaks form. Continue beating, adding remaining sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until meringue forms stiff peaks and is shiny. With the mixer at the lowest speed, beat in vanilla. Gently fold cocoa mixture into egg whites, being careful to avoid streaks of white meringue. Scrape batter into the tube pan.
4. Bake in the center of the oven for 40–45 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and invert the pan onto the neck of a tall bottle for at least 11/2 hours, or until cool. Run a knife or spatula around the outside of the pan to loosen cake and invert cake onto a serving plate.
Note: Cake can be prepared up to 1 day in advance and kept at room temperature, tightly covered with plastic wrap.
Variations
Dissolve 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder in 2 tablespoons boiling water, and beat it into batter along with the vanilla for a mocha cake.
Substitute pure almond extract for the vanilla, and add 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the batter.
Cocoa powder has a tendency to become lumpy if exposed to humidity, and if you find that this is the case with your cocoa powder, sift the cocoa or shake it through a fine-meshed sieve before using it.