Step 1 : Introduction to the question "5. Mmmm...who among us could refuse a slice of angel food cake. I know I couldn't. Which is NOT a classic ingredient in this delicious dessert?"
...1. Egg whites 2. Flour 3. Sugar 4. Coconut Angel food cake is a type of foam cake with a springy texture. While the origins have never been clearly determined, it is generally believed that the cake followed the invention of the eggbeater in 1865. Because of the large number of egg whites used and the labor required to whip air into the eggs, a lack of an eggbeater to whip the eggs to a stiff froth would make the process extremely difficult. Recipes for snow-drift cake and silver cake found in cookbooks in the 1800s are very similar to later recipes for angel food cake. Like most foam cakes, angel food cakes have a high proportion of eggs to flour and are leavened by the air whipped into the eggs. Because only egg whites are used, the cake has little to no fat. This gives angel food cake it's characteristic light texture and taste. It is customarily made in a tube pan that should be un-greased. A sauce or frosting is often applied to the finished product imbuing it with a little flavor and texture. FUN FACT: As written in the 1883 "The President's Cookbook", angel food cake was a favorite dessert for first lady "Lemonade Lucy" Hayes.
