Angel Food Cake & how to rid yourself of 12 egg yolks

***These recipes were published last fall under another birthday post, however, I made some very slight changes so I am leaving them. If you want to see the original post, click HERE.***


Yesterday our number 3 turned 12. His choice of meal consisted of chicken piccata, mac & cheese, salad and angel food cake with chocolate pudding in the middle & whipped cream for frosting.

When looking at the boxed mix for angel food cake at the grocery store, I noticed it had artificial flavors. For 20 cents more, I could buy a dozen eggs and make a homemade angel cake with no artificial flavors. A bit more labor intensive, but not difficult. So I bought the eggs.

Angel Food Cake

12 eggs whites, room temp.
1 1/2 c. sugar, divided
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 c. flour

Separate eggs making sure you don't get any yolks into the whites. (I use three bowls and my hands to separate. Break the egg and place into your palm with fingers parted just a little bit. The egg whites should slip through into the bowl below. 1 bowl for the yolks, one for the collective whites and the small bowl for the actual separating - this way if a yolk breaks, you haven't wasted all the other whites.) Allow the whites to come to room temp. (About 45 mins. - This is very important!)

Mix together the flour and 3/4 c. sugar in a small bowl with a wire whisk or fork.

Place the whites into a stand mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the salt & flavorings. Whip until frothy. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the top and begin to whip. Slowly add 3/4 c. of sugar while whipping. Whip until the eggs whites are stiff.

Gently fold in the flour & sugar into the egg white mixture. Spoon into an angel food cake pan and bake at 325 for about an hour or until the top is a deep golden brown. Do not under cook!

Turn over and cool for about 2 hours. Remove from pan and cool completely.


Being as frugal as I am, I couldn't waste the 12 yolks and while there are endless possibilities of ways to use them, I choose the whole wheat Golden Angel Food cake from King Arthur Flour's 200 Anniversary cookbook. Totally different taste & texture, but yummy just the same. I prepared it with the chocolate pudding the middle and whipped cream frosting just as the other.


Golden Angel Food Cake

12 egg yolks
3/4 c. boiling water
Zest of one large orange
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325. Grease only the removable bottom of the angel food pan or line with parchment.

Beat the yolks until thick and lemon colored. Slowly add in the boiling water and continue beating. (I use the whisk attachment on my stand mixer for this). Slowly add in the orange zest and sugar (do not stop beating).

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add in the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan (not bundt) and bake for approx. 45 mins. or until cake springs back when you press lightly on it. Cool upside down for about an hour and a half before removing it from pan.

Who knew? Cornstarch Pudding

So typically the eldest likes Angel Food cake with chocolate pudding poured into the middle & whipped cream frosting on top for his birthday. I always use cook 'n' serve pudding for the middle. Yesterday, I didn't buy any and I didn't have any at home so I tried a recipe for a chocolate cornstarch pudding. Um, yeah, good bye to boxed pudding forever. From now on, this will be my "go to" chocolate pudding recipe for this cake & for my chocolate cream pie. I also folded in some leftover chocolate whipped cream to lighten it up....YUMMMY.


Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

2/3 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1/4 c. cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 3/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

In a medium saucepan, blend together the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch & salt. Add in the milk and heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add in the vanilla & butter. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

You can serve this warm or place in fridge to chill. If chilling, place plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent a "skin".