the.com/angel food cake

A cake with zero yolks, zero butter, and zero chill about egg whites.

means A light, fat-free sponge cake made airy by whipping egg whites into stiff peaks and folding them with sugar and flour, then baking it in an ungreased tube pan.

from An American name first recorded in the 1800s, calling the cake 'angel food' simply because it was so white, light, and ethereally fluffy it seemed too good for earthly eating — fit for angels instead. The tube pan became standard because the delicate, fat-free batter needs to climb and cling to a center cone and ungreased sides to rise at all.

fat content
basically none, no butter or oil at all
rise mechanism
whipped egg whites, not baking powder
pan rule
never greased, batter must climb the sides
cooling trick
pan flipped upside down so it doesn't collapse
the.com · every word