Chocolate Lover's Angel Food Cake

By norsegal8

This cake has many special qualities, not the least of which is that it is the only cake I deem worth eating that has not even a smidgen of "devil" cholesterol. It is lovely on its own, with fresh strawberries or raspberries, or for dipping into chocolate fondue.
Angel food cake is one of the sweetest cakes because it has virtually no fat to tenderize it and relies on an extra-high proportion of sugar for this purpose. I find white angel food overpoweringly sweet but cocoa does wonders to temper the sweetness in this version.
Interestingly, everyone who has tasted this cake, when fquestioned individually about the sweetness level, has said; "I don't like sweet things, but this cake is so moist, light and wonderful, I don't find it too sweet at all. My doorman went one step further: All smiles, eyes glowing, and seemingly at a loss for words, he expressed himself most eloquently by kissing my hand.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa (Dutch-processed)
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup sifted cake flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 16 large egg whites
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use one ungreased 10-inch tube pan.

In a medium bowl combine the cocoa and boiling water and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla.

In another medium bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar, the flour and salt and whisk to blend.

In a large mixing bowl beat the egg whites until frothy, add the cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the remaining 1 cup sugar, beating until very stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Remove 1 heaping cup of egg whites and place it into the cocoa mixture.

Dust the flour mixture over the remaining whites, 1/4 cup at a time, and fold in quickly but gently. It is not necessary to incorporate every speck until the last addition. The ideal implement was designed in England for this type of cake, but a large balloon whisk or slotted skimmer also works well.

Whisk together the egg white and cocoa mixture and fold into the batter until uniform. Pour into the tube pan and run a small spatula or knife through the batter to prevent air pockets, and bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back lightly when pressed. (The center will rise above the pan when baking and sink slightly when done. The surface will have deep cracks like a souffle.)

Invert the pan, placing the tube opening over the neck of a soda or wine bottle to suspend it well above the counter, and let the cake cool completely in the pan.

Loosen the sides with a long metal spatula and remove the center core of the pan. Dislodge the bottom and center core with a metal spatula or thin, sharp knife. A wire cake tester works well around the core. To keep the sides attractive, press the spatula against the side of the pan, and avoid any up-and-down motion. Invert onto a serving plate. Wrap airtight.