Ingredients
Method
- Start by mixing your cake flour and half of the sugar (3/4 cup) together. You need to sift this mixture at least twice. Sifting aerates the flour and makes it light enough to float on top of the egg foam. If you don’t have a sifter, a fine-mesh strainer works just as well. Set this dry bowl aside.
- Separate your eggs while they are cold, as the yolks are less likely to break. Room temperature whites stretch much better and create more volume than cold ones.
- Add the salt and the cream of tartar to your egg whites. Start your mixer on a medium-low speed. Once the whites look frothy, like the top of a beer, increase the speed to medium.
- When the whites start to form “soft peaks”—which means they look like waves that curl over—it is time to add the flavor. Mix in your vanilla and almond extracts.
- Keep the mixer running and start adding the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar. Do this very slowly, about one tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until you reach “stiff peaks.” This means when you lift the whisk, the foam stands straight up like a mountain peak and doesn’t move.
- Put the mixer away. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the flour and sugar mixture into the egg foam. Do this in four separate additions. Sprinkle a little flour on top, then gently cut down through the middle of the foam, sweep across the bottom, and fold over. Rotate the bowl and repeat. Do not stir. If you stir, you will pop all the air bubbles.
- Gently spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes. The top should be golden brown and the cracks should look dry.
- When you pull it out, immediately turn the pan upside down. Let it cool completely upside down for at least two hours.
Notes
The most common disaster is the cake falling out of the pan while it cools upside down. This usually happens if the pan was greased or if the cake was underbaked. The cake needs to be firmly attached to the sides of the pan to support its own weight while it hangs.
Another issue is “deflating” the batter. If you are too aggressive when folding in the flour, the batter will lose its volume and turn into a liquid. If your batter looks like soup instead of a thick cloud, the cake will not rise.