Caramel Drizzle Angel Food Cakes

 

We decided to continue embarking on our ice cream-making adventure. However, making proper ice cream comes with the downsides of ending up with leftover egg whites. Therefore, here is bake 1 of probably many that uses up egg whites. 

I spent a long time researching prior to baking these as angel food cakes are notorious for being tricky due to the need to cool them upside down and still in the tin, with them sticking to the tin being key for them to turn out light and fluffy. Traditionally they are baked in a tube pan, but this is not something that I own. Therefore, after lots of googling, I decided to try my hand at some miniature angel food cakes baked in a muffin tin. I decided to line the base to prevent them sticking completely, and this trick seemed to work. Much to my surprise, they came out with no issues and it worked perfectly! It seemed that using brown sugar instead of the usual caster sugar also worked well and they have a delicious caramel flavour that complements the caramel topping well. I would say this bake was definitely a success and one worth giving a go. 

Recipe - Makes 8 small cakes

For the sponge:

• 3 egg whites
• 60g light brown sugar
• 30g caster sugar
• 1/3 tsp cream of tartar
• Dash lemon juice
• 30g plain flour
• 12g cornflour

For the caramel drizzle:

• 50ml milk
• 30g light brown sugar
• 30g butter

For the almond brittle:

• 30g blanched almonds
• 30g sugar
• 1/2 tbsp water

Prepare 8 holes of a muffin tin by placing a circle of baking paper at the bottom. Don't be tempted to grease or line the tin further.

Make the cake mix by whisking the egg whites in a bowl to frothy. Add the lemon juice and cream of tartar and whisk to soft peaks. Add the light brown sugar one spoonful at a time, whisking to stiff peaks. Sift in the flour, cornflour and caster sugar and fold in gently. Spoon equally into each of the prepared holes of the muffin tin. Use a knife to gently press the batter into the corners and run through to stop any large air bubbles forming. Bake at 170C for 20-25 minutes to just firm. 

Once baked, invert over a wire rack, balancing the muffin tins on ramekin dishes or glasses. Leave to cool. Meanwhile, prepare the caramel drizzle by heating the milk, butter and sugar on a medium heat whilst stirring. Boil for a few minutes then remove, pour into a bowl and leave to cool. 

Make the almond brittle by heating the sugar and water together in a pan until the sugar is melted. Boil without stirring until it becomes a light golden brown colour. Add the almonds, stir then pour immediately onto a piece of baking paper. Leave to cool before chopping. 

Once the cakes have cooled, they may fall out by themselves. If not, use a knife to run around the edges and ease out gently. Take each cake and drizzle a spoonful of the caramel sauce on the middle and sprinkle over the chopped almond brittle.