A treat for an angel. The story of one pie
No one knows if angels eat sweets, but just in case, people have already come up with a special cake for them, which they called - Angel's Food. Snow-white, airy, with aromas of vanilla and almond, it literally melts in your mouth, caressing with its divine taste the delicate sky of those who are in love with it. It is impossible not to fall in love with this cake, love for it will overwhelm you from the very first bite. And this love may more than once inspire you to a culinary feat that requires a lot of time, patience and endurance - cooking Angel Food requires significant effort.
Angel Pie, also known as Silver Pie or Spongy Pie, or even Snowdrift, requires relatively few ingredients. The basis of the dough is made up of egg whites (albeit in large quantities), sugar and flour, complement the dough with tartar (baking powder can quite adequately replace it), salt, almond and vanilla extracts.
According to some historians, Angel Pie was born thanks to the frugality of Pennsylvania chefs, who left a lot of protein after cooking egg noodles. But this is just one of the versions. According to another version, described in the book by Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks "The Presidents' Cookbook - Practical Recipes from George Washington to the Present",
“The origin of the Angel Pie, sometimes called Angel Food, is shrouded in mystery, but it seems that it comes from the mysterious East. According to a cookbook published in 1883, a family on the Atlantic coast moved to a quiet place on the Hudson River, where they opened a small boarding house. A woman from India got a job as a baker in this boarding house. It was she who began to bake pies unusual for Americans, including Angel Pie, and it was baked behind closed doors, surrounded by complete secrecy. But, like most culinary secrets, his secret was soon revealed, and the recipe was improved and improved. " There is a third version, according to which the Angel Pie was invented by black slaves, because to make the cake you needed to have strong hands, and not alone, to beat the egg whites into a dense, stable foam. In favor of the first version, culinary historians cite the fact that Angel Pie is traditionally baked for weddings in southeastern Pennsylvania. Historians, who sided with black slaves, retort that Angel Pies are still traditional on African American funeral tables ... In general, unraveling this story turned out to be not so easy. One thing is clear - Angel Pie appeared somewhere in America around the beginning of the 19th century.
Incredible popularity came to the cake in the second half of the 19th century, with the invention of hand-operated whisks. This supertechnique was invented in 1870 by Turner Williams of Rhode Island, and it was a great gift for many housewives and cooks. Angel Pie began to appear on the tables of ordinary Americans much more often. Why are there simple! Angel Pie received permanent residence in the White House during the presidency of Rutherford Hayes (1822-1893), the nineteenth President of the United States. His wife, Lucky Webb Hayes, is a real angel by nature, she just loved this cake!
Angel Pie recipes can be found in so many American cookbooks dating back to the late 19th century. And they are all pretty similar. Compare yourself:
In 1871, M.E. Porter “Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book, and Companion for Frugal and Economical ", in which the author gives a recipe for our cake, only called" Snowdrift ":
"Three cups full of flour, two full cups of sugar, half a cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, whites of five eggs, beaten into a stiff froth, one teaspoonful of tartar, half a teaspoon of baking soda."
In 1881, Mrs. Abbie Fisher, the first black American and ex-slave from Alabama, recounts her Silver Pie recipe in What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cuisine, Soups, Soups, and More. (What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Soups, Pickles, Preserves, Etc.):
“… You need the whites of one dozen eggs, lightly beaten, 1 pound of butter and 1 pound of granulated sugar; grind butter and sugar until light creamy mass, then add whipped egg whites, beat everything together until light foam; sift two teaspoons of the best yeast powder with 1 lb. flour, then add flour to eggs, sugar and butter, also add half a cup of sweet milk, mix quickly and whisk a little, add two teaspoons of almond or peach extract at the end for flavor. Bake in any form, but grease it long before pouring the cooked dough into it. Bake in a moderately hot oven, periodically taking care of humidifying the air inside. " In 1884, Mrs D. A. Lincoln's Boston Cooking School Cook Book also contains an Angel Pie recipe:
“Mix one glass of sifted flour with 1 teaspoon of tartar and sift all together four times. Beat the whites of 11 eggs using a wire whisk or perforated spoon, until stiff and stable. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract and stir quickly and gently into the flour. Line the baking dish with non-greased paper, pour in the dough, bake for about 40 minutes. " Probably, further there is no point in sprinkling with quotes, it is clear that the recipe of the pie has reached our days, having undergone only some changes, for example, some recipes suggest the presence of butter in the dough, some do not. Let's now move from theory to practice and try to cook this delicate pie with our own hands.
First, let's set aside time for it. The pie preparation plan will be approximately as follows: morning - prepare the proteins, in the evening - prepare the pie and put it in the refrigerator overnight. And in the morning of the next day we will enjoy the pie, eating it with strawberries, whipped cream or lemon curd, and listen to the enthusiasm of the household and enjoy our culinary talent. Isn't it a heavenly life?
So…
Angel Pie. Classic recipeIngredients:
1.5 cups whites (about 10-12 eggs), room temperature
1.5 cups sugar (the finer the sugar, the better)
1 cup sifted premium flour
1 tsp tartar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
0.5 tsp almond extract
Preparation:
Separate the whites from the yolks. It is best to do this with chilled eggs - this way the proteins are separated much more easily and there is less chance of yolk drops in them. To completely eliminate the likelihood of the yolk getting into the protein mass, separate each egg one by one above the bowl, and only then attach the pure protein to the rest. The temperature of the whites for whipping should be warm. Therefore, cover the bowl of proteins with a lid and leave at room temperature for several hours, during which time the proteins should warm up.
Meanwhile, combine 3/4 cup sugar with all the flour. Set aside for a while.
Whisk the whites, warmed to room temperature, using a mixer in a large container until frothy, adding tartar and salt to them. Beat on medium speed until the tartar is completely dissolved, then start gradually adding the remaining sugar, adding several tablespoons at a time and whisking the whites each time until the next portion of sugar is completely dissolved.When the proteins turn into a foam with soft peaks, add the vanilla and almonds, whisk for literally a few seconds, this is enough to dissolve the extracts.
Now take a mixture of flour and sugar, sift it, and start adding to the protein mass in small portions (you will get about 6-8 servings), each time gently, NOT HURRYING, smoothly combining flour with proteins in smooth movements.
In an unlubricated form (traditionally for baking Angel Pie, a round tall form with a round hole inside and a removable base is used) with a diameter of about 22 cm with a large spoon, lay out the dough. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 50-60 minutes in an oven preheated to 160C. The readiness of the cake can be determined with a light touch of your finger - a well-baked cake is springy, and the dent mark disappears almost immediately.
Remove the cake from the oven and leave it at room temperature until it cools completely. This will take several hours, but the cake can only be removed from the mold when it has cooled down! Separate the cooled cake with a thin sharp knife from the walls of the form along the entire circumference. Flip the dish onto a large, flat plate.
The cake is ready, you can decorate it as you like. Usually Angel Pie is generously smeared with white cream. Have a nice tea!
"Culinary Eden"
Bon Appetit! Try and you make this cake - the food of the angels!
