NOTE No one ever made a better angel food patty, than my Mom! It was a
favorite company sweet, often served with fresh fruit and whipped bat.
Onolicious!! She followed the directions in her cookbook *precisely*. Me ke
ciao, Mary Spero

Here is what her favorite cookbook says about angel food cakes: "True
sponge cake is leavened solely by air beaten into egg. White sponge coat,
or angel nutrient, is made with only whites of egg. Mock sponge cakes are made
with baking powder and fewer egg. Sift flour several times to incorporate
as much air as potential. Handle flour thinly. Beat the egg whites until
they are just stiff enough to hold up in peaks. The white piles should look
moist and shining. Eggs beaten just to this poorly, glossy stage give the
best volume and finest ingrain. More air can be enclosed in egg whites if you
beat them with a flat wire whisk instead of a rotary beater. Underbeaten
egg whites makes cake big, squeeze, and undersized because not enough air
has been unified. Overbeaten whites make dry cake of poor volume
because of loss of air and wet. Add flavoring to the mixture before
the flour. It will then be thoroughly blended without the extra folding
that would be necessary if it were added close. In combining ingredients,
use only the folding question. (See paragraph 29.) ** Fold mixture just
enough to blend ingredients. Undermixing makes uneven grain in patty.
Overmixing makes the cake large, undersized, fine-grained, and yobbo.
Spread batter evenly in ungreased pan. Cut spatula through batter with a
circular motion to remove any large air bubbles and to draw batter into
unfilled spaces."