Heavenly Angel Food Cake with Vanilla Bean Crème Anglaise
This recipe for Heavenly Angel Food Cake with Vanilla Bean Crème Anglaise is featured in the recently released A Heavenly Christmas e-book, written by Rhonda Merwarth, from Hallmark Publishing.
In A Heavenly Christmas, the heroine learns that angels can eat as much as they want without gaining weight (we need that super power!), so at Max’s diner, she orders two kinds of pie and a slice of angel food cake. This recipe for Heavenly Angel Food Cake is light, fluffy, beautiful and heavenly, of course!
A Heavenly Christmas is one of a series of four e-books launched by Hallmark as companions to four of this year’s warm and inspiring Christmas movies. Each features a recipe for food referenced in the corresponding movie and e-book.
Click below to find recipes from the other three e-books, with links to the e-books on Amazon.
Snowflake Cherry Pie from Christmas in Homestead
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Christmas Comet Cookies from Journey Back to Christmas
Christmas Biscuits with Sugar Plum Jam from Love You Like Christmas
Recipe used with permission of Hallmark Publishing.
Ingredients
Angel Food Cake:
- 12 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar, divided
- 1 cup cake flour
Crème Anglaise:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
- 4 large egg yolds, whisked
To finish:
- 1/4 cup powdered confectioner's sugar
- 3 cups fresh berries (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
Preparation
To prepare angel food cake:
- 1 Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine egg whites, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl; using a wire whip attachment, beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add cream of tartar; beat on high speed until glossy stiff peaks form.
- 2 Remove bowl from mixer stand. Using a soft spatula, fold ¾ cup sugar into beaten egg whites, ¼ cup at a time.
- 3 In a separate bowl, sift cake flour and ¾ cup sugar together; gradually fold into egg mixture. Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan.
- 4 Bake for 45 minutes, or until cake top springs back when touched. Immediately invert pan; cool for 1½ hours. Loosen edges around the cake with a knife to remove from pan.
To prepare crème anglaise:
- 1 Combine heavy cream, sugar, vanilla bean and scraped seeds in a medium saucepan; heat to a simmer. Remove from heat.
- 2 Slowly whisk 1 cup hot cream mixture into egg yolks, ¼ cup at a time. Gradually add egg yolk mixture into saucepan, whisking constantly. Stir over low heat with a wooden spoon until custard thickens, about 5 minutes. Strain sauce into bowl, cover and chill. (Custard can be made 1 day ahead.)
To assemble dessert:
- 1 Sift powdered sugar generously over top and sides of angel food cake. Dredge berries in sugar and arrange over top of cake. To serve: using a serrated knife, slice cake; top each slice of angel food cake and berries with 2 tablespoons crème anglaise.