Week 7: Angel Food Cake

Last week, I looked at modifying the flour content of the angel food cake to see if less flour could make a more tender cake. This week I am looking at the baking temperature. The baking temperature for angel food cake is hotly contested. Some people say 350˚F, but others argue that it needs to be 325˚ F. Those in the low temperature camp claim that higher temperatures set the top of the cake too early and inhibit further rise. I'll put this to the test this week by making two identical cakes and baking them at these two temperatures.

350 ˚F

325˚ F

I baked the first cake at my standard 350˚ F for 47 minutes, and the other I baked at 325˚ F for 69 minutes. They were identical and size and texture, both achieving a height of 7.0 cm. The only minor difference was that the cake baked at 325˚ F was slightly drier. Baking at 350˚ F results in a slightly moister cake that takes much less time to bake, so the higher temperature is the clear winner here! This was the last open question in figuring out the perfect angel food cake, so next week, I'll present the complete angel food cake master recipe!