Angel food cake experiment

For the longest time, I've wanted to make an angel food cake.  I've been a little mesmerized by the general idea of a cake made basically from egg whites.  It's essentially fat-free (plenty of sugar though) and sounds as well as looks like a nice light treat.  Ironically, I don't think I've ever eaten angel food cake before I made this one and I was curious.  It sure looks pretty but would I like it? 

Practically speaking, I never got around to making this cake until now because it sounded a little complicated since we're dealing with a large amount of delicate egg whites and there are a few tricky steps involved (not to mention a new pan to invest in).  Also, I've heard angel food cake described as tasting like cotton candy, not a very good image in my mind.  But I had to figure it out for myself so I finally buckled down and experimented with the angel food cake. 

Remember that bittersweet chocolate sauce I made in my prior post?  I had an ulterior motive in making that.  I thought it would be a nice accompaniment to this cake.

So here are my conclusions from this angel food cake experiment.  Well first, it turned out to be fairly easy to make and I'm assuming I did everything correctly since the cake came out tender, fluffy and light (I have nothing to compare it to having never had one before).  The stand mixer does the work of whipping the egg whites and there's just a bit more steps involving sifting and gentle folding of the flour into the whites.

As for the taste, the angel food cake itself is, well, bland.  It sort of tasted the way it looked but a bit stickier.  I honestly thought I was eating nothing in a sense but then the sweetness left an aftertaste behind that I wasn't a big fan of.  I enjoyed the bittersweet chocolate sauce with the cake and it's such a blank canvas that it's nice to pair the angel food cake with something strong like that or maybe some fruit if you prefer that.  I've also seen recipes incorporating a bit of chocolate or even toasted coconut in the batter to add another dimension of flavor.  Overall, I thought it was alright but it definitely needs a partner or accompaniment to go with it.  I guess I miss the fat - there, I said it.  But it is a pretty thing to look at and I had fun making it and trying it out.  Who knows, I may experiment with another version one day...

Lighter chocolate sauce

We recently returned home from vacation, having had a great time in a land of sunshine, palm trees, and turquoise seas.  It's so good to get away...and for a few days, I just stared at this...

and lounged around looking at this...

It's so good to be on vacation, with someone else to cook your meals and clean your room.  It also seems like an excellent excuse to eat more ice cream -I mean, is it me or does Ben & Jerry's ice cream just taste even better on the road?  Well, the trip was a blast but believe it or not, I missed my little kitchen and kept thinking of all the things I wanted to make when I got home.  I have developed a serious sweet tooth!

So here we go! 

To honor all the ice cream we ate while on vacation, I thought I'd make a chocolate sauce that I've wanted to try for some time.  When I first received David Lebovitz's book, Ready for Dessert, I tagged a number of recipes I wanted to try.  I've already made a few of them but this is another entry that caught my eye right away.  It's a bittersweet chocolate sauce.

As much as I love chocolate, it's no surprise that the words "chocolate sauce" would get my attention.  But what really did it was the fact that this particular sauce has no cream or butter in it (thus, the "lighter" label) and I am always on the lookout for ways to lighten things up a little so I can have more of it.  Seriously, though, this recipe for bittersweet chocolate sauce is so easy to make, requires just 5 ingredients, and you can keep it around for a couple of weeks in the fridge for when you'd like some over your ice cream or a slice of cake. 

I love a hot fudge sundae!  As a kid, I loved the one from McDonald's...you know the one with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge and you can get peanuts in a little packet.  Who am kidding - I still love it.  As with any sundae, I think the chocolate sauce is the best part, although the crunchy peanut topping comes in at a close second for me.  I had to make myself a little one today.