Review: Angel Food Cake

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The original recipe can be found here!

With my husband’s birthday last week, I found myself with a bit of a challenge. For his birthday he always got to have Angel Food cake, and that was a huge challenge for me. I don’t usually bake and I especially never make cakes. When making an Angel Food Cake, taking your time is important and making sure each step is done according to the directions is important, but it is not the way that I cook. If you would like to make this recipe yourself, please go visit the original recipe above and only take away some of my tricks and advice. The Woman who wrote the recipe will probably know far more about cakes than I ever will!

As for my review, I can say this cake was very delicious. It was rather difficult to make, and I did make at least one mistake, but the cake still turned out good despite my incompetence. One mistake I made was not sifting my flour. That meant there were clumps of flour in my batter that were very crunchy in the freshly baked cake. My second mistake was due to a complete lack of understanding. While the cake is cooling, I guess you are supposed to invert it. I had never heard of such a thing, and though the directions said to flip the cake, I just assumed that you do that after it is fully cooled. Neither of these mistakes ruined the cake, they just made the cake have it’s own quirk. Since I did not invert the cake, the center of the cake deflated while the outside stayed fully inflated. The last bit of advice I can give is to be sure to eat the cake as quickly as possible. Once the cake is baked and cooled, you should keep it in the fridge. I made the cake Thursday Day, and by Sunday when we were finishing the cake, it had a very subtle but present fridge flavor.

The only tricks I can provide is to make sure to use wax paper for your cake. Don’t use a bunt pan unless it’s your only option, because with a bunt pan, you’ll have to use a non-stick spray on just the bottom, then coat with flour to keep from sticking to the bottom, but to still allow the cake mixture to stick to the sides while cooking. Finally, if you don’t have an angel food cake pan, a spring form pan works very well with a can or a small glass in the center. I don’t have an angel food cake pan, so I used an old jelly jar wrapped in wax paper, and it worked great. It wasn’t as pretty as it would if I had the correct pan, but it was good enough to impress me! I also didn’t have cake flour, so I saw that you can use cornstarch to make a cake flour. This recipe used one cup of cake flour, so add 2 Tbsp corn starch to a one cup measuring cup, then fill the rest of the way with flour. That worked great as a substitute!

This cake made about 8 slices. Below I will include some picture from the process.

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Directions

Dry Ingredients and Making Meringue

Mixing, Filling, and Baking

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February 8, 2021 0

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast with Ranch Pasta

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Chicken, bacon, and ranch is a very popular flavor combination right now, and I’m also a huge fan of the flavor combination. Sandwiches, salads, or casseroles, that were all good options, but I decided to do a special meal and made bacon wrapped butterflied chicken breast with a homemade ranch pasta side. This meal won’t serve a huge family the way a casserole will, but if you are looking for a special meal that is also very easy to make, this is a great option. This recipe has very little active cooking since most of the time is baking. Also, if you want your chicken to be a bit more brown, broil your chicken breasts for 30 seconds to 1 minute watching carefully to prevent burning! This recipe made 4 adult sized servings.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast with Ranch Pasta Recipe Card Download

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What You Will Need

1 Large Chicken Breast, Butterflied in Half
4 Thick Slices of Bacon
1 Lb Rotini, or Pasta of Your Choice
1/2 Cup Ranch Dressing
1/4 Cup Mayo
1 Tbsp Parsley
1 Tbsp Chives
Baking Pan
Aluminum Foil
Large Sauce Pan
Colander
Medium Serving Bowl

Directions

Fill large sauce pan 3/4 with water and place over high heat. Heat oven to 375 F. Line baking pan with aluminum foil. Wrap each half of chicken breast with 2 pieces of bacon and place in baking pan. Bake chicken for 30 minutes or until internal temp of at least 165 F is reached.

2. Once water is boiling, add pasta and cook as directed on the box. Strain, and rinse with cold water before transferring to the serving bowl. Add ranch dressing, mayo, parsley, and chives to serving bowl and stir everything together. Once chicken is cooked, remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve chicken over noodles, or dice chicken and stir together. Serve hot or cold.

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February 5, 2021 1

Baked Pork Chops with Sauerkraut and Smashed Acorn Squash

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Pork chops and sauerkraut is a very popular dish in my region, so most people grow up with it and are able to make it. The smashed squash is something I just came up with by taking inspiration from mashed potatoes while also having many winter squash that are getting very close to over ripe. This meal is easy to make and just needs a little work to make a filling dish! This recipe makes 3 adult sized servings.

Baked Pork Chops with Sauerkraut and Smashed Acorn Squash Recipe Card Download

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What You Will Need

2 Bone-in Pork Chops, about 1 inch thick
Sauerkraut
1 Acorn Squash, Halved and Cored
2 Potatoes, Peeled and Cubed
Aluminum Foil
2 Casserole Dishes

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 F. Line both casserole dishes with aluminum foil. Spray one pan with non-stick spray, and place squash and potatoes in that dish. Add to oven. Place Pork Chops on second pan, and add to oven 10 minutes after squash. Bake pork chops for 25 minutes.

2. Heat oven to 400 F. Line both casserole dishes with aluminum foil. Spray one pan with non-stick spray, and place squash and potatoes in that dish. Add to oven. Place Pork Chops on second pan, and add to oven 10 minutes after squash. Bake pork chops for 25 minutes.

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February 4, 2021 0

Spicy Bean Curry with Rice

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Curry is an easy and warming meal. Not only does is have great depth in flavor, but it is often times very healthy and a very filling dish. So I figured, why not add some beans to my curry. I took inspiration from southern rice and beans, but I added some leftover cooked sausage for a bit more protein. The only note I have with this dish is to add the spices a bit at a time if you are nervous of flavor. You can easily taste it as you add them, and also, the earlier you add them, the more the heat from the cayenne and hot sauce will cook out. This recipe maked 7 adult sized servings.

Spicy Bean Curry with Rice Recipe Card Download

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What You Will Need

1 Pint Diced Tomatoes
1 Can Northern Beans
1/2 Onion, Sliced
1 Tbsp Ground Cumin, Curry powder, Ground Mustard, Cayenne Powder, Ground Paprika, and Ground Cinnamon, Alter to taste
1/2 Tbsp Hot sauce, Optional
1/2 lb Cooked Ground Sausage
2 cups Beef Broth
Large Saucepan
6 Cups Cooked Rice

Directions

1. Add all your ingredients but the broth, sausage and rice to the large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Add your broth and cook until sauce becomes thick, about 30 minutes.

2. Once sauce is thick, add your sausage, stir and cook until heated through. Serve over cooked rice.

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February 3, 2021 0

Smash Burgers with Quick Fondant Potatoes and Acorn Squash

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Smash burgers are a classic form of burger that doesn’t need any altering. You simply form balls, place them onto a hot skillet or flat top, smash them thin with your spatula, then season with salt and pepper and cook one minute per side. These burgers are always delicious and are super easy to make. You can also make a lot with only a little bit of meat, which is another huge plus! Beyond that, I also made fondant potatoes and squash to go with these burgers. Fondant potatoes usually take a while to make since you cut your potatoes into large patties then cook them covered for almost an hour. This recipe makes it all so much easier, and adds a different flavor and texture with added squash. The savory broth adds amazing flavor to these potatoes and makes fondant potatoes one of my very favorite forms of potatoes. We also served this meal with a side of sliced dill pickles, and they were delicious! This recipe makes 8 burgers, which is 8 adult servings, and 5 servings of the fondant potato and squash side.

Smash Burgers with Quick Fondant Potatoes and Acorn Squash Recipe Card Download

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What You Will Need

4 Potatoes, Peeled and Roughly Cubed
1/2 Acorn Squash, Cored, Peeled, and Cubed
2 Tbsp Oil
1 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
1 1/2 Lb Burger
2 Tbsp A1
Medium Mixing Bowl
Salt and Pepper
Sliced Onion, Ketchup, Mustard, and A1 to Serve
8 Burger Buns
2 Large Frying Pans

Directions

1. Place potatoes and squash in one frying pan. Add oil and place over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes stirring regularly. Begin heating second frying pan over medium heat.

2. Mix together Burger and A1 in a medium bowl. Form into 8 equal sized patties. Add broth to potatoes and squash, and boil until most/all liquid is gone.

3. Begin by adding 2 balls of meat into second pan, and smash into a very thin patty. Add salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, then flip. Salt and pepper the second side, cook for another minute, then remove patties from heat and place on serving plate. Repeat for remaining burgers.