This was mighty fine. Although Doris’s recipe calls for an Angel Food Cake mix:
you can’t get one of those for love nor money in the UK, so in a reversal of all that I have learned via Caker Cooking, I made one from scratch. To Rita Hayworth’s recipe which you can find at the bottom of this post (click on link to view)
If you are American or Canadian you probably can’t believe that most Brits do not know what Angel Food Cake is. I had no idea what Angel Food Cake was, nor how tricky it was to make until I started this project, but over the years I have learned many things:
1 – you need a gazillion eggs for Angel Food Cake
2 – you also need a special cake tin
3 – you can’t make one of these in a hurry
But luckily, it was Easter Monday, I had the day off work and I had Tontomongo in residence to soothe my fevered brow and keep the washing up at bay.
My cake turned out just lovely. It was fluffy and squishy and scrummy. Peaches aren’t in season here yet, here so I used tinned peaches, I thought they were absolutely fine. My guests all really liked it too so I was very happy.
Here’s Doris’s recipe – I might send this over to Brian at Caker Cooking, although he’d probably replace the whipped cream with Cool Whip I’m guessing…
Doris says: “I wonder how they manage to sift so much glamor into a package mix. The peaches and cream of this, my favorite recipe, are like adding solid lyrics to music that sings alone… even the best can be improved!”
1 package angel-food mix
Prepare according to directions. After cool, cut cake into 3 layers
2 cups heavy cream
Whipped until it stands in peaks
1 pound fresh peaches
Peel, slice, sweeten to taste.
1 teaspoon asorbic acid (or lemon juice)
Dissolve and add to prevent discoloration
Spread part of whipped cream on one layer of cake, cover with peaches. Repeat, stacking layers on top of each other. Top off with peaches and whipped cream. Serve immediately. (A saw-toothed knife is best for cutting angel food cake. Slice – don’t cut!)
As you’ll see from my pic I sort of forgot about slicing the cake into 3 pieces and only sliced it into two. Next time I will do as I am told.
I really liked this cake. I was immensely proud of it too… I was proud of the whole dinner in fact and absolutely recommend the combo of the Paprika Steak, the Stuffed Potatoes and the Peach Angel Food Cake. Three Doris Day recipes + a Doris Day movie + Debbie and Atalanta and Mr R = a lovely Sunday. Thanks Doris!
Here in Kansas, you can run into any supermarket and grab an unfrosted angel-food cake to take home and cover in Cool Whip or whatever. Or fill with Jell-O. Or put in a trifle. They’re very popular, especially for summer barbeques. I have never made an angel-food cake, because I hate them. (Paul says this is inhuman and abnormal.) Of course, I doubt I’ve ever had a truly homemade one. Probably helps. I do, however, have a wondrous thing that is specially designed for cutting angel food cake, a vintage version of this: http://www.broadwaypanhandler.com/angel-food-cake-cutter/sci_angelfoodcake_cutter/product
Wow! An American who doesn’t like Angel Food Cake? How is this possible?! Well, it does seem very odd when you are used to “proper” sponge cake like we are here in the UK. LOVE the angel food cake cutter. Ebay here I come!
Yes, I frequently feel as foreign as E.T. in Kansas! I’ve never felt like I “belonged” anywhere I’ve lived even where I was born. It’s like there was a mix-up! Ah, well.