Angel Food Cake (G.F.)

Holidays for me means just one more excuse to make fun recipes! Especially with holidays such as the fourth of July, it's fun to make them themed as well. This is one of my favorite gluten free recipes that I've come across so far. Alot of g.f. baked goods have a tendency to be extremely dense and crumble at the slightest touch, but this one is light and has a great texture to it. I've made it several times and to be honest, I think that it tastes better than the boxed kind that people usually make! Here's the recipe:

[Meredith Sizemore Photography]

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. You'll need a 10" tube pan with a removable bottom for this recipe! Take out a small bowl and combine 1 1/4  cups of confectioners' sugar, 2/3 cup of brown rice flour (the finer the grind, the better the cake's texture will be!), 1/4 cup of potato starch (NOT potato flour!), 4 tablespoons of tapioca flour, 1/2 a teaspoon of xanthum gum (guar gum will work well for this too if you don't have xanthum gum!). Sift together these ingredients several times and set aside.

[Meredith Sizemore Photography]

In a large bowl, combine 12 large egg whites, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cream of tarter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. With an electric mixer, begin blending on a medium speed until the mixture begins to foam a bit.

[Meredith Sizemore Photography]

Begin to gradually increase the speed to high. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar (until you've reached a total of 1 cup of granulated sugar) at a time while beating the mixture on high. Don't scrape the bowl while beating! Beat until the sugar has fully dissolved and the egg whites begin to form stiff peaks.

[Meredith Sizemore Photography]

Begin to fold in the flour mixture 1 cup at a time using a rubber spatula, then pour the mixture into the ungreased 10" pan. Make sure to break up any air bubbles and smooth the batter out.  Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when touched. The surface should look dry and slightly cracked.

[Meredith Sizemore Photography]

Turn the cake pan over onto the neck of a bottle and allow to cool completely. Loosen the edges of the cake with a knife and remove from the pan. I love to serve this recipe with sliced strawberries or any other type of seasonal fruit! Happy fourth of July weekend!

Enjoy!