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Double-strawberry angel food cake with whipped vanilla creme fraiche

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adapted from this recipe by Jacquelyn of Lark & Linen.

Ingredients

Scale
  • for the strawberry compote:
  • 1 cup whole strawberries (half a 1 lb box)
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • for fresh strawberries:
  • 1/2 cup whole strawberries
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • for the cake:
  • 1/6 cup (2 tbsp plus 2 tsp) cake flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • small pinch salt
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • few drops almond extract
  • for the whipped creme fraiche:
  • 1 8 oz tub of Vermont Creamery vanilla creme fraiche
  • 1–2 tbsp confectioners sugar (optional)

Instructions

  1. For the strawberry compote: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Hull strawberries, then slice into halves or quarters. Toss lightly in balsamic vinegar and sugar, then spread in a single layer over parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until strawberries are soft.
  2. Remove and let cool; you can leave the oven on because you’ll need it for the cake. Transfer the strawberries to a food processor and pulse briefly to form the compote. Alternatively, you can just mash with a fork.
  3. For the fresh strawberries: Hull and toss in sugar to coat, then cover and place in refrigerator to let the juices release while you prepare everything else.
  4. For the cake: Sift the cake flour and 2 tbsp of sugar together and set aside.
  5. Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until peaks begin to form.
  6. Sprinkle in the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar and continue beating on high until the egg mixture reaches stiff peaks. (Note that sugar makes egg whites less sturdy, so you may only reach medium peaks. It’s not terribly important, so don’t fret if they’re not stiff.)
  7. Fold in the cake flour mixture, vanilla extract, and almond extract, taking care to mix very gently so as not to deflate the mixture.
  8. Line a cupcake tin with small parchment paper circles or cupcake liners. Divide batter evenly between 6-8 cupcake tins (depending on how high you want your “cake layers” to be). Alternatively, you can bake the batter in 3 or 4 4-ounce porcelain ramekins.
  9. If using a cupcake tin, bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. If using ramekins, bake for slightly longer, about 15 minutes (or golden brown).
  10. Remove from oven and cool completely. No need to invert, as they are so small they likely won’t fall much anyway.
  11. Finally, for the whipped creme fraiche: Simply beat the creme fraiche until it forms soft peaks. It’s already fairly stiff in texture, so you’re really just making it a bit more fluffy, and it will not go much stiffer than soft peaks, so you don’t need to go overboard with the whipping. Be careful to stop and test to make sure it doesn’t become grainy. I added a tablespoon or two of confectioners’ sugar, but I didn’t think it was really necessary — the creme fraiche is plenty sweet on its own.
  12. To assemble: Slice the fresh strawberries, now sweetened, into thin slices. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the tin to loosen the cakes (or, if you’ve used liners, just remove the liners). My layers were shallow enough that I simply stacked them as they were — if yours are taller, you may try slicing them in half. Alternate cake layers with layers of strawberry compote, fresh strawberries, and creme fraiche, then top with more of each. Or just dump it in a bowl and enjoy. The cake tastes even better when the creme fraiche and all the juices have soaked into it.

Notes

Note that you may have leftover creme fraiche and strawberry compote. You can either just double the batch of angel food cake, or use them for other things — the creme fraiche makes a wonderful dip for fruit, and the compote is great on pancakes, toast, English muffins, or anything else you can think of.

Find it online: https://tworedbowls.com/2014/02/13/mini-angel-food-cake-whipped-vanilla-creme-fraiche/