1. Egg white beaten to flow slowly in a partially inverted bowl.
2. Egg white beaten stiff enough to stay in an inverted bowl.
3. Egg white beaten until very dry and flaky.
372 EGG COOKERY
flour reduced by about 2 to 4 tablespoons. There is also a greater tendency
for drops of sirup to collect on the surface of the crust when bread flour
is used.
Liquid. There does not seem to be any advantage in adding about 30 cc.
of water to the egg white.
Cream of tartar. Angel cake made without cream of tartar is cream
colored. The cream of tartar produces a very white cake on account of
the efifect of the acid salt on the flour. The flavone pigments of flour are
cream colored when slightly alkaline but white when the reaction is acid
or neutral. Also the addition of cream of tartar produces a more tender
cake. Evidently the tartrate ion brings about peptization of the egg or flour
proteins, or both. Increasing the quantity of cream of tartar beyond the
amount used in the recipe produces a more tender cake and one that is
more moist and tart in flavor. Barmore recommends that the amount of
cream of tartar should be 1 to 2 per cent of the weight of the egg white.
The amount given in the standard recipe is about 1.5 per cent.
Sugar. A fine crystalline sugar, such as fruit or berry sugar, which dis-
solves rapidly is excellent to use in angel cake. The maximum amount of
sugar per gram of egg white is about 1 gram. At higher altitudes this must
be decreased. At sea level, or up to 1000 feet above sea level, the sugar
can be increased to 1.25 grams of sugar per gram of egg white provided
the maximum amount of flour is used. But it must be handled carefully.
See Fig. 41. Cakes with large proportions of sugar have a typical sugary
crust.
Temperature o£ baking angel cake. Reports of recent investiga-
tions of baking temperatures for angel cake indicate that higher tempera-
tures than those commonly used are preferable. Barmore reports that cakes
baked at 178°C. (352°F.) had a larger volume, were more tender (prob-
ably because of larger volume), and appeared more moist, though a moisture
analysis showed no cakes lost moisture farther from the edge than 1 cm.
Burke and Niles have reported a larger volume, more tender cakes,
and less moisture loss for cakes baked at 350°F. than for those baked at
325 °F. Peet and Lowe have reported a larger volume, more tender cakes,
and more moist cakes when the cakes were baked in preheated ovens of
electric, gas, and kerosene ranges than from a cold start in these same
ranges.
Whether still higher temperatures will be more desirable has not been
reported. At present it appears that oven temperatures of 175° to 180°C.
are preferable to 150° or 160°C.
Sponge Cake
Sponge cake, like angel cake and foamy omelets, depends chiefly upon
the extent of whipping the egg whites, the mixing, and good proportions to
produce a tender cake.
REFERENCES 373
Page 301
Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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1. Egg white beaten to flow slowly in a partially inverted bowl.
2. Egg white beaten stiff enough to stay in an inverted bowl.
3. Egg white beaten until very dry and flaky.
372 EGG COOKERY
flour reduced by about 2 to 4 tablespoons. There is also a greater tendency
for drops of sirup to collect on the surface of the crust when bread flour
is used.
Liquid. There does not seem to be any advantage in adding about 30 cc.
of water to the egg white.
Cream of tartar. Angel cake made without cream of tartar is cream
colored. The cream of tartar produces a very white cake on account of
the efifect of the acid salt on the flour. The flavone pigments of flour are
cream colored when slightly alkaline but white when the reaction is acid
or neutral. Also the addition of cream of tartar produces a more tender
cake. Evidently the tartrate ion brings about peptization of the egg or flour
proteins, or both. Increasing the quantity of cream of tartar beyond the
amount used in the recipe produces a more tender cake and one that is
more moist and tart in flavor. Barmore recommends that the amount of
cream of tartar should be 1 to 2 per cent of the weight of the egg white.
The amount given in the standard recipe is about 1.5 per cent.
Sugar. A fine crystalline sugar, such as fruit or berry sugar, which dis-
solves rapidly is excellent to use in angel cake. The maximum amount of
sugar per gram of egg white is about 1 gram. At higher altitudes this must
be decreased. At sea level, or up to 1000 feet above sea level, the sugar
can be increased to 1.25 grams of sugar per gram of egg white provided
the maximum amount of flour is used. But it must be handled carefully.
See Fig. 41. Cakes with large proportions of sugar have a typical sugary
crust.
Temperature o£ baking angel cake. Reports of recent investiga-
tions of baking temperatures for angel cake indicate that higher tempera-
tures than those commonly used are preferable. Barmore reports that cakes
baked at 178°C. (352°F.) had a larger volume, were more tender (prob-
ably because of larger volume), and appeared more moist, though a moisture
analysis showed no cakes lost moisture farther from the edge than 1 cm.
Burke and Niles have reported a larger volume, more tender cakes,
and less moisture loss for cakes baked at 350°F. than for those baked at
325 °F. Peet and Lowe have reported a larger volume, more tender cakes,
and more moist cakes when the cakes were baked in preheated ovens of
electric, gas, and kerosene ranges than from a cold start in these same
ranges.
Whether still higher temperatures will be more desirable has not been
reported. At present it appears that oven temperatures of 175° to 180°C.
are preferable to 150° or 160°C.
Sponge Cake
Sponge cake, like angel cake and foamy omelets, depends chiefly upon
the extent of whipping the egg whites, the mixing, and good proportions to
produce a tender cake.
REFERENCES 373