Angel Cake With Strawberries

(serves 12)

Make this sponge style cake, named on account of its pristinely white, airy and delicate nature, at least one day ahead of when you plan to serve it. If you serve it without cream it is a fat free dessert.

Ingredients

Method

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Place egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer and on medium speed whisk til foamy. Gradually add castor sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, whisking till egg whites are creamy white with soft moist peaks.
• Fold in vanilla and almond extracts.
• Sift flour three times with second measure of sugar and then gradually sift flour and sugar mixture over egg white mixture. Using a rubber spatula fold together very lightly and thoroughly.
• Scrape batter into a grease-free (i.e. very clean but also not sprayed or greased) 26cm Angel Cake tin 12cm deep (an Angel Cake tin is a flat bottomed ring tin with or without a removable bottom). Batter should come to the top of the tin. Gently cut through batter with a table knife to allow any air bubbles to escape. Tilt tin to make batter even and level with top of tin.
• Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Cake should be well risen, golden on top and leaving sides of pan. Invert onto cake rack to hang upside-down til cake cools completely. Leave like this preferably overnight.
• Next day knock cake tin very hard on base and all sides, invert over a serving plate and shake out. Dust liberally with icing sugar and serve with strawberries and a jug of runny cream.