Angel Food Cake with Winter Compote

Winter Compote (below)

1½ cups powdered sugar

1 cup cake flour

1½ cups egg whites

1½ teaspoons cream of tartar

1 cup granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

¼ teaspoon salt

Prepare Winter Compote. Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 375°. Mix powdered sugar and four; reserve. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in medium bowl on medium speed until foamy. Beat in granulated sugar on high speed, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding vanilla, almond extract and salt with the last addition of sugar; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat.

Sprinkle sugar-flour mixture, ¼ cup at a time, over meringue, folding in just until sugar-flour mixture disappears. Spread batter in ungreased tube pan, 10 x 4 inches. Cut gently through batter with metal spatula.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks in cake feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pan upside down onto glass bottle or metal funnel. Let hang about 2 hours or until cake is completely cool. Remove cake from pan by sliding a stiff knife or spatula firmly against the side of pan and moving it In up-and-down strokes, being careful not to damage cake. Serve cake with compote. Garnish with plain yogurt or crème fraiche if desired. 16 servings.

WINTER COMPOTE

1 two-inch stick cinnamon

6 whole cloves

¼ cup sugar

½ cup port, sweet red wine or apple juice

½ cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 packages (6 ounces each) dried mixed fruit

2 bananas, sliced

Tie cinnamon stick and cloves in cheesecloth bag. Heat cheesecloth bag, sugar, port, water and lemon juice to boiling in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in dried fruit. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fruit is plump and tender. Refrigerate uncovered about 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until chilled. Remove cheesecloth bag. Stir bananas into fruit mixture until coated with syrup.

A Instead of baking the angel food cake from scratch, try an angel food cake mix or a purchased cake.

 

It is a quote. Betty Crocker’s New Christmas Cookbook 1993