Funfetti Angel Food Cake

Angel food cake is an ethereally light sponge cake. It doesn’t get as much time in the spotlight as towering layer cakes, even though it is a fairly tall cake, because it is usually served plain. The most dressed up that a slice of angel food cake gets is when it is paired with fresh berries and a spoonful or two of whipped cream. It doesn’t get loaded up with colorful frosting and, as a result, many people don’t consider it to be a “fun” cake. I happen to consider it to be a very fun cake, largely because I can eat it with my fingers and it is so light that I can eat a lot of it, and I decided to create this Coenfetti Angel Food Cake to illustrate just how fun an angel food cake can be.

The idea of a “funfetti” or “confetti” cake is that the cake is speckled with a rainbow of color throughout, not just on the top or sides where you would usually expect to see decorations. The effect is achieved by folding rainbow sprinkles, or rainbow jimmies, into the cake batter before baking. The angel food cake itself is soft and moist, with a touch of vanilla flavor to it. The rainbow sprinkles melt into the cake as it bakes, leaving you with pops of color and without changing the flavor of the rest of the cake.

When you fold in the sprinkles, do it quickly so that the colors don’t start to run and create streaks in the cake batter. Also, don’t be tempted to go crazy with the sprinkles and dramatically increase the amount suggested in the recipe because, even though more rainbow sounds like a good thing, the cake will really start to look cluttered if you go overboard with them. The cake can be served exactly as-is after it as cooled, and while you can still pair it with berries or whipped cream, this colorful cake doesn’t need anything extra to make it stand out.

Confetti Angel Food Cake
1 1/2 cups egg whites (10-12 large), room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided (superfine, if possible)
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles/jimmies

Preheat oven to 325F. Take out a 10-inch tube pan. Do not grease.
In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar and the cake flour. Set aside.
Beat egg whites until frothy, the add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until fully incorporated then begin to add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar 1-2 tablespoons at a time. When sugar has been added, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Don’t be afraid to slow down the mixer and check a few times as you get close to ensure that you don’t overbeat. Once you have soft peaks, add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat for a few seconds to evenly distribute.
Sift the flour/sugar mixture over the egg whites in 4-6 additions and gently fold it in after each addition. Fold in rainbow sprinkles.
Spoon batter into your ungreased 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom. Smooth the top with a spatula and tap the pan on the counter once or twice to ensure that there are no large bubbles lurking beneath the surface.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Remove cake from the oven and invert pan over a [wine] bottle. Allow cake to cool completely.

When cake has cooled, gently run a thin knife around the sides, then around the bottom, of the pan to release the cake onto a serving plate. Store covered, in an airtight container.

Serves 12-16.