The other night I invited some friends over and fixed Crème Brulee for dessert. Then I had all these egg whites to do something with. So here is my recipe for Angel Cake. As for the Crème Brulee? Awesome is not an adequate word. I will write about it in the coming year.

While the eggs are still cold from the refrigerator separate the whites from the yolks and place them in a large bowl. Make sure there are NO specks of yolk in the whites or the whites won't whip properly. Set the bowl of egg whites aside to warm to room temperature.

When the egg whites have come to room temperature you are ready to start. Begin by pre-heating the oven to 325 degrees and have ready a clean (meaning no grease and no flour) 10 inch angel cake tube pan. Sift a little over a cup of cake flour onto a sheet of waxed paper. Scoop the sifted flour into the measuring cup to measure then place it in a medium bowl. Lift the wax paper and funnel the extra flour back into its container. Add ¾ cup of the sugar to the flour, whisk to combine and set aside.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and begin to whip with an electric beater at slow speed till foamy. Increase speed gradually to high speed and beat till very soft peaks form when you lift the beaters. Start adding the second ¾ cup of the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time beating well after each addition, till the whites are starting to get somewhat stiff. Beat in the salt, lemon juice and extracts.

Sprinkle about ¼ cup of the flour mixture over the egg white foam and fold in gently till almost completely combined. Sprinkle another ¼ cup and fold in again. Continue with the rest of the flour mixture. Fold gently so you don't deflate the egg foam.

Pour the batter into the tube pan and give it a couple of good shakes to bring any large bubbles to the top and smooth the surface. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. The top should be a nice light golden brown.

Remove from the oven and invert the pan onto a bottle or funnel to let it cool upside down. If you don't do this the cake falls. When completely cool, cut all around the edge of the cake with a long thin knife or spatula to loosen. Pull the center tube up out of the pan and cut the top of the cake from the bottom of the pan. Cut down the center tube of the cake and invert onto a plate.

Cut with a very sharp knife and serve with a drizzle of chocolate sauce or hot fudge. Or top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a dollop of whipped cream.