Angel Food Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, optional

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Set out a 9-inch (23 cm) tube pan, and skip any non-stick version for this cake.
2. Sift the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt together in a small bowl.
3. Add the egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat them on medium speed. Once the whites look foamy, add the cream of tartar and lemon juice.
4. Turn the mixer to high and beat until the whites are just able to form soft, slouching peaks. Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar gradually, working in 1/4 cup at a time. Stop before the whites turn dry or rigid; they should stay soft and billowy. Mix in the vanilla right at the end.
5. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour and sugar mixture into the whites little by little.
6. Transfer the batter to the tube pan, even out the surface, and bake for 45 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and turn the pan upside down right away over a cooling rack. If your pan has no feet, balance the center opening over the neck of a heavy bottle or an upside-down metal funnel until the cake has cooled.