This post is part of the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, a group of gluten-free bloggers inspired and empowered by Ruhlman‘s Ratio and started by Shauna at Gluten-Free Girl. We get together each month and post many different takes on the same theme. This month that theme is Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake and the rally is being hosted by Caleigh from Gluten Free[k].
Today is about finding and celebrating joy.
Because it is here. In every day. Even when it hurts to put on real pants. And some days, I need to remind myself of it.
Joy is seeing art exhibits and taking tours in French of the Art Institute with my aunt.
Joy is my cat telling me it is time to go to bed by sitting on my chest so I can no longer see the computer screen. And then refusing to move until i go to sleep.
Joy is how I feel when I step of the train in the Loop and the promise of a good day is hanging in the air.
Joy is a hug sent via email from a friend on the opposite side of the world. And a phone call from that same friend at exactly the wrong time because someone can’t do math.
This is what I am focusing on today.
And sometimes, all you need is a little cake to bring it to you.
The ratio
3 parts egg whites: 3 parts sugar: 1 part flour (the lighter the better).
Not going to lie, I love angel food cake. And there is a recipe that we have used often in our house – one that is gluten free just because it is. The one from the back of the Swan’s Down Potato Starch. It is quite lovely, and it means, dear readers, that this is a fairly flexible cake. Add cocoa or ground chocolate in place of some of the flour for a chocolate cake. Use potato starch or arrowroot because that is what you happen to have. You will still end up with a magical, light cake.
Well, as long as you resist the urge to brush the warm cake with the earl grey syrup. Because I did not. And I melted my cake. And I know better. At least it still tastes good.
The flavors
Rainier cherries pan roasted with cointreau. Earl grey syrup. Orange extract in the cake. I would say, dear friends, that this is one sophisticated cake. The cointreau and the orange extract in the cake help pull the bergamot flavors to the forefront in the tea syrup. The tea itself gives a complex background for the oh-so-sweet cherries.
I whole heartedly suggest that you try the cake with all of these components. Sure, the cake on its own with fresh berries and home made whipped cream would be a perfectly simple dessert. But this my friends, is a rockstar dessert.
This is not your mom’s tired angel food cake.
This is not the Styrofoam textured cake that you can buy at the grocery store (yes, the filled with gluten kind).
This is a melt-in-your-mouth cake. A curl your toes with delight cake. This is the cake you want to make when you are trying to impress someone with your mad skills but can’t pipe frosting for the life of you. Or if you think you aren’t an accomplished baker.
[toggle title_open=”The others!” title_closed=”See the other posts from this month’s rally” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The others
Adina | Gluten Free Travelette made Cacao Spice Angel Food Cake
Angela | Angela’s Kitchen made Grilled Lemon Angel Food Cake with Lemon Curd and Berries
Aunt Mae | Honey From Flinty Rocks made Angel Food Cake with Lemon Glaze
Caleigh | Gluten Free[k] made Almond Angel Food Stars
Caneel | Mama Me Gluten Free made Angel Food Cake “Pudding” with Fresh Cherry Sauce
Charissa | Zest Bakery Saffron Angel Food Cake (and didn’t post a link!)
gretchen | kumquat made caramel macchiato angel food cake
Heather | Discovering the Extraordinary Coconut Lime Angel Food Cake Roll
Jonathan | The Canary Files made Lavender Angel Food Cupcakes
Pete & Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem made Caramel Peach Angel Food Cake
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies made Peach Angel Food Cake
| Gluten Free Angel Food Cake with Early Grey & Cherries |
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Print
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- Syrup
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 earl grey tea bags
- 200 grams (1 cup) sugar
- Cake
- 350 grams (1 3/4 cup) granulated sugar, divided
- 175 grams (1 1/4 cup) gluten-free all purpose flour*
- 350 grams (12) egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- Cherry topping
- 450 grams (1 pound) Rainier or other sweet red cherry, pitted and halved
- 1/4 cup cointreau
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (or regular sugar if that is all you have)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Steep the tea in the boiling water and let sit while you make the batter.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Whisk together the flour and half the sugar, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy, about a minute.
- Add the the remaining sugar, cream of tartar, lemon juice, salt, vanilla and orange extract to the egg whites.
- Increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form.
- Now is the time that requires a little patience, fold in the flour/sugar combo 1/3 at a time. You want to make sure that you do not deflate the mixture too much.
- Pour batter into a 9 or 10″ tube pan and bake for 30-50 mins. You want a tester inserted into the middle of the cake to come out clean.
- Remove the teabags from the tea. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the strong tea and sugar to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes (you want to end up with about a cup of syrup.
- While the cake is baking, and the syrup is cooking (you do not need to stir it), combine cherries, half the cointreau, the sugar and the salt in a large skillet.
- Cook over medium heat until the cherries start to soften. Pour in the remaining cointreau to deglaze the pan and keep cooking until the sauce thickens back up. Stop cooking before the cherries turn to mush.
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for an hour and a half. Resist the urge to brush it with the syrup until it is cool.
- When cool, poke some holes in the bottom of the cake and brush with the syrup.
- Remove cake from pan, poke the top with holes and brush with syrup again.
- Top with cherries and serve. Amaze your friends.
*If you want to use potato starch or arrowroot, please go by weight and not by volume. You will end up with a little more volume wise.
**If you just want a plain cake, skip the orange extract and replace it with vanilla.