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Betty Crocker’s All-Time Favorites

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1971

and

Ma Gastronomie

Fernand Point

1969

Not only did I make a cake, I made an AWESEOME cake!  I am very, very proud of myself because this recipe incorporated all the things I hate about baking - sifting, measuring, patience - and I totally nailed it anyway! And this brings my dessert-for-company repertoire up to a stunning THREE, including pudding and poached fruit.

Frankly, Angel Food is made for novices.  Sift 1 cup cake flour with 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar.  Measure 1 1/2 cups egg whites (this meant 11 eggs for me) into a bowl with 1 1/2 tsp cream of tarter and 1/4 tsp salt.  Beat on medium speed until foamy and then add 1 cup granulated sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture is stiff and glossy.  I used a little less sugar because I feared a cotton candy-type concoction.  Then fold in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and the flour-sugar mixture a little at a time until it disappears.  “Push” (I love that!) the batter into an Angel Food tube pan, poke through with the back of a wooden spoon to break air holes, and bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees until golden.  Here’s the cool part, and maybe all you Angel Food pros know this trick: Betty says to “invert the tube pan on a funnel and let hang until cake is completely cool, at least 2 hours.”  Very smart trick so the cake doesn’t deflate under it’s own weight.

The Waldorf part of the recipe comes next and this is where I got  a little creative.  Betty directs you to cut off the top inch of the cake and dig a sort -of tunnel all the way around with a curved knife or spoon.  The tunnel is then filled with chocolate-flavored whipped cream.  But I took a look at those 11 leftover egg yolks just lying there and my heart broke, they needed to be used.  I thought, “An old French guy will know what to do with all these yolks!” And sure enough, Fernand Point came through with his peerless culinary classic, Ma Gastronomie  Crème Chocolat Pyramide is made by melting one pound of semi-sweet chocolate in four cups of milk with a drop of vanilla added.  Meanwhile 10 (!!) egg yolks are whisked with five ounces of sugar.  Once the chocolate is melted into the milk, add a drop to the eggs to temper them and then add all the eggs into the milk.  Heat very slowly until thick.  I was feeling insecure about how the Crème would turn out so I called my friend Drew at Garrison Confections.  He makes the world’s best bonbons and is a pastry genius.  He did the calculations in his head and confirmed for me that once the Crème cooled it would have a mousse-like texture.  Thanks Drew!

I filled my Angel Food with the Crème but felt it was too thick to use as icing.  Instead, I whipped about a cup of heavy cream and folded an equal amount of the mousse into it which worked out perfectly.  Look at me! Winging a dessert recipe! Did I mention that I am very, very proud of myself?  Although my Angel Food Waldorf didn’t look quite as perfect as the one in the book:

I still gave myself a gold medal for it.

p.s. You only need a fraction of the amount of Crème that Point’s recipe makes, but we have found many other uses for it so far including one I like to call “straight from the bowl”.