Ingredients
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1 cup cake flour (I use Softsilk or SwansDown brands)
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1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (made from cane sugar)
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1 1/2 cups egg whites (10-12 egg whites, room temperature)
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1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1 cup granulated sugar
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1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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1/2-1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- .Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Stir together cake flour and confectioner's sugar; set aside.
- In a large mixer bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until foamy.
- Add the granular sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating at high speed until the meringue holds stiff peaks. (This takes up to 10 minutes.).
- Gently fold in the extracts by hand.
- Sprinkle the flour-confectioner's sugar mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, over the meringue, folding it in gently just until flour-sugar mixture disappears. DO NOT OVER-MIX OR CAKE WILL BECOME TOUGH!
- Push batter into ungreased tube pan, turning it several times to fill pan evenly. Gently cut through the batter with a knife to remove air bubbles.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until the top springs back when touched lightly with finger.
- Remove from oven and immediately invert the tube over weighted glass bottle; let hang upside down until cake is completely cool (about 2 hours.).
- To remove cooled cake from tube pan, loosen first by moving table knife up and down against side of pan. Next, turn the pan over and hit one side; the cake will slip out onto the platter.