sometimes called angel cake, a light, pale, and puffy N. American sponge cake or angel food. It is made with egg whites to which cream of tartar is added to prevent darkening. Mariani (1994) writes: ‘The egg whites give it a texture so airy that the confection supposedly has the sublimity of angels.’ The cake is often baked in a ring-shaped (‘tubular’) mould.
This is a plain cake, but may be flavoured with nuts and/or spices, or enriched with fillings or frostings.
Angel food cake was known in the USA in the 1870s, according to Mariani (and the name appeared in print in both the USA and Canada in the 1880s). Some perceive it as a good way of using up surplus egg whites.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Mariani, John (1994), The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, 2nd rev edn, New York: Hearst.
