The Great Angel Food Cake Cookoff

Well, I'm not so sure what the "Great" is about in the title...except it makes my little experiment much more EXCITING!!! and DRAMATIC!!! doesn't it?

Last week, I needed to make a frosted angel food cake for a small gathering at my parents' house.  Just lately my mom and I have been reminiscing fondly about the frosted angel food cakes we used to order from a hometown bakery.  We remember those cakes being the BEST things we've EVER eaten--and frosted with the lightest, sweetest frosting we've ever tasted IN OUR WHOLE LIVES.

Maybe I should confess right now...if you haven't already figured it out...I can exaggerate just a little bit when it comes to yummy food.  Yeah, and I am pretty sure I come by it genetically--from my mom.

But, really, those frosted angel food cakes were TO DIE FOR!!!  (Anybody else from South Arkansas know what I am talking about?)

Because of all this fond reminiscing, I decided to try my hand at a frosted angel food cake.  Not that I have ever MADE an angel food cake, mind you!  I figured it was a good week to learn how!

I started by searching one of my favorite recipe websites--http://www.allrecipes.com.  I looked for the highest-rated recipe, and printed it off.  I figured it couldn't get much better than a Heavenly Angel Food Cake.

So, I got my dozen eggs and separated them, let them stand out to get to room temperature, and began whipping them in my beloved Kitchenaid mixer.  *cue angels singing*

 
Note that I whipped those egg whites into shape...stiff peaks.  "Come on, egg whites, you can do better than that!!  Show me what you've got!"

Verdict for the homemade Heavenly Angel Food Cake:

The first thing I noticed, was that it was shorter than I was expecting.  Some of the comments about the recipe stated the same thing.  Maybe I didn't beat those egg whites stiff enough, or maybe the weather was too humid?  Since I am a beginner angel food baker, I don't know... The second thing I noticed was the flavor was very good, but the texture was a little "off."  I am not even sure I can describe it accurately.  It felt a little "gummy" to cut.  I didn't notice the "gummy" texture when I was eating it...but it wasn't as light and fluffy as I was expecting.

This is actually a picture of two different frostings I was experimenting with.  I wanted to show you how "short" the cake turned out.   

 

Now, HERE is where my friend Janna could say, "I told you so!"  Because when I borrowed her angel food cake pan, she mentioned that she had made a homemade angel food cake once, but realized the BOX MIX was just as good--or better!

 

But, stubborn little me had to find out for myself!  So, off to the grocery store I trotted--the DAY BEFORE the finished cake was due--and purchased myself a box of Duncan Hines Angel Food Cake Mix...and also an angel food cake from the grocery bakery (just in case!)

Guess what ingredients are needed for the Duncan Hines mix??? 

WATER.   (But you know me...I cannot leave well enough alone...I did add to the mix about 1 teaspoon of almond flavoring.)

So, my dozen eggs that I had all ready to make another cake still sit sadly in my refrigerator...losing their one chance to become elegant and classy.  Now, they'll probably die one by one in boring things like tuna fish and fried eggs. 

Duncan Hines Box Mix Verdict:

I have to say, I was SHOCKED at how tall and beautiful the box cake turned out!  The texture was light and fluffy!  And the flavor was delicious!  I could taste the slight amount of almond flavoring I had added, and it was good.

So, the CLEAR WINNER of the GREAT Angel Food Cake Cook-off

(as sad as I am to say it)

Is the Duncan Hines Box Mix!!! 

Ah, doesn't that just make you SMILE?  It does me! 

 

 

Now the frosted part?  I did try 2 different frostings...but I won't bore you with ANOTHER cook-off here...I'll save it for a future post.  *suspenseful music clip here*

But, I will tell you that the frosted angel food cake got some great reviews!  And if you are one of the sweet ladies that my mom told the cake was from scratch...My mom really WAS telling the TRUTH.  I did not tell her until after the event that the cake was from a box.  I wanted to get her reaction before I revealed my dirty little secret.

So, go to the store, pick yourself up a box of Duncan Hines Angel Food Cake Mix, and bake to your little heart's content!  Serve it up with some sugared strawberries and some homemade whipped cream (because there is NO CONTEST between whipped cream and Cool Whip--puh-lease!), and you will be a rockstar at your house!!

Linked up with:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple