[Sca-cooks] angel-food cake (was Re: OT,Angle dresses)

[Daniel Myers]

On Friday, January 24, 2003, at 06:26 PM, Laura C. Minnick wrote:

> Speaking of angels- does anyone know the origins of angel-food cake? Is
> that one of those where 'they couldn't have done it becasue they didn't
> have the Williams-Sonoma balloon whisp collection', or something else?
> It's
> really so simple...


A brief web search suggests that angel-food cake is a 19th century
invention.

[ from  http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CakeHistory.htm ]

History:  Angel Food or "angel cake" is thought to be a takeoff of the
sponge cake and cornstarch cake.  There are several theories on who
originated this cake.

(1) Also called ice cream cake (a PA Dutch wedding cake).  It is felt
that the abundance of cake molds in southeastern Pennsylvania, one of
the major producer of cake molds, indicates that the angel food cake
originated there in the 1800s.

(2) It is also felt that the first angel food cakes were probably baked
by African-American slaves from the South because making this cake
required a strong beating arm and lots of labor to whip the air into
the whites. Angel food cakes are also a traditional African-American
favorite for post-funeral feasting. 

(3) The first Angel Food Cake was baked by a St. Louis, Missouri woman
in the late 1800s at the Beer Hotel. The hotel offered it for sale in
its 1888 catalog.

- Doc


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  Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)
  http://www.medievalcookery.com/
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