where does the name angel food cake come from?
Angel food The classic story behind the name “angel food cake” is that this dessert is so white, light, and fluffy it must be fit for angels. Who thought up this name? No one knows. We do know [from the study of old cookbooks] that cake recipes with the name “angel food” began showing up in American cookbooks sometime in the late nineteenth century [about the same time as mass-produced bakeware hit the popular market]. The making of a proper angel food cake requires a special tube pan or cake mold. Some food historians speculate the Pennsylvania Dutch were probably the original makers and namers of angel food, though this connection has not been fully documented. In support of the theory, one of many culinary traditions introduced to America by the Pennsyvania Dutch was the cake mold, a special metal pan for creating festive cakes in unusual shapes. A recipe for “Amanda’s Angel Food Cake” is included in the Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book of Time Old Recipes, Culinary Arts Press [1936] (p
This type of cake is made with a large quantity of egg whites and no shortening or leavening. Angel Food cake is thought to be a takeoff of the Sponge Cake, Cornstarch Cake, Silver Cake, and/or Snow-drift Cake. There are several theories on who originated this cake. Also called ice cream cake (a Pennsylvania Dutch wedding cake). It is felt that the abundance of cake molds in southeastern Pennsylvania, one of the major producer of cake molds, indicates that the angel food cake originated there in the early 1800s. Rotary Egg Beaters – The rotary egg beater eliminated the long and laborious hand beating of eggs and batters. The rotary egg beater was purchased in sufficient numbers to make a substantial impact on American cooking. In the Sears’ 1897 catalogue a “Dover” egg beater sold for 9ยข. 1865 – The first patents for rotary egg beaters began showing up around 1865. 1870 – Turner Williams of Providence, Rhode Island invented and patented, US Patent
Snipped from Whatscookingamerica.net Some historians think that the first angel food cakes were probably baked by African-American slaves from the South because making this cake required a strong beating arm and lots of labor to whip the air into the whites. Angel food cakes are also a traditional African-American favorite for post-funeral feasting. 1871 – Mrs. Porter’s New Southern Cookery Book, and Companion for Frugal and Economical by M. E. Porter, has a recipe for Snow-drift Cake: Three cupsful of flour, two cupsful of sugar, one-half a cupful of butter, one cupful of sweet milk, the whites of five eggs beaten to a stiff froth, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one-half a teaspoonful of soda; sift the flour, and do not pack it when measuring it. 1881 – Mrs. Abby Fisher, the first Black American woman and a former slave from Mobile, Alabama, recorded her recipes in a cookbook called What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Soups, Pickles, Preserves, Etc. Abby Fisher liv
Angel cake From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Angel food cake) Jump to: navigation, search Angel cake is a type of cake that became popular in the U.S. in the 19th century. It is sometimes found in the shape of an angel. It is also called angel food cake as a contrast to chocolate Devil’s food cake, but the two cakes are compl
