Chocolate Angel Food Cake ala Raspberry Fudge

Because Cocoa asked so nicely, here is the recipe for the yummy birthday cake. Also, because class is never dismissed at our house, we tied in a lesson about chain reactions as we made this cake this week. It was probably one of our yummiest lessons. :D

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

12 egg whites
1 c. cake flour
1/3 c. cocoa
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract

After separating into a large bowl, let egg whites stand for one hour. In a separate bowl, sift together 4 times: flour, 3/4 c. sugar, and cocoa. Set aside the remaining 3/4 c. sugar. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add salt to egg whites and beat with mixer until frothy, the add cream of tartar. Beat till mixture forms rounded peaks (about 5-8 min.). Add remaining sugar to egg mixture 2 Tbls. at a time while mixing. Mix in almond and vanilla extracts. Fold sifted mixture in 4 Tbls. at a time until all is mixed thoroughly. Slide batter into a lightly sprayed tube pan and cut through to break air bubbles. Bake at 35o for 40-45 min. Cool upside-down.

Raspberry Fudge
3 cups chocolate chips
2 Tbls. Butter
1/3 cup Torrani Raspberry syrup (I used sugar-free)
raspberries, if you have them. I did not use them this time.

Melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and put in a little longer if not all melted. Be careful not to burn it! Stir until smooth and slightly thickened. Add Raspberry syrup and stir until blended.

Spread half of fudge on half of cake. Top with fresh raspberries. Spread the rest on top. And top with fresh raspberries.

Here's a bit of our lesson. Egg whites contain chains called albumin. Whisking whips air bubbles into the egg white. The albumin traps the bubbles, making a foam. When you bake it with the other ingredients, it makes a light fluffy cake, full of air trapped by albumin.

This poorly taken picture is from Usbornes's 100 Science Experiments. It does a good job of illustrating the process.