Week 15 - Angel Food Cake - May 1, 2011

So this week I made something I have never made before....I made Angel Food Cake! It requires a special cake pan, which I got for my birthday from Doris and Dave!

Angel Food Cake is super easy....There are only a few ingredients: egg whites, flour, coconut extract.

This is the first recipe I have written out...

2 cups of egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup flour

Preheat the over to 325.  Beat the egg whites until foamy, add the salt and the cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form.  Add the almond extract and vanilla, then gradually add the sugar beating until stiff.  Fold in the flour.  Bake on an ungreased tube pan (see below) for 50 minutes.  Let it cool completely before removing from the pan. 

The pan is a crazy shape but makes the cake!

The cake was good!!!!
I am ready for more cakes! What to make this week....

Week 14 - Coconut Cream Pie - April 24, 2011

Well everyone....Here is the latest entry.  This pie was made for Easter with a special guest! My mother-in-law, Doris!!! Coconut Cream Pie is a Strohecker family favorite and I have never made it.  So, we had a great time....And thank you to Doris for all your guidance...

So we made the entire pie from scratch including the dough.  This is the second time I have made pastry dough from scratch and it wasn't as bad as I remembered.  I didn't chill it for as long as the last time but I did ask Doris to roll it out....I was nervous!

She also made a super cute edge on the dough as well!

We then made all the coconut cream filling from scratch, which required lots of stirring to prevent lumps.  Here we are pouring it into the shell! 

Here was the application of the meringue! Which unfortunately we did not beat enough....we only found that out after we baked it.  The peaks were not as stiff as they should have been!

And it was a big hit for dessert!!!! Thank you again to Doris for all your help! Hope everyone had a great Easter!