Vanilla Angel Cake

This is the perfect light and delicious dessert to serve to your guests this holiday weekend!  Top with some fresh berries, homemade whipped cream and enjoy to your hearts content.  Next time, I will try  slicing the finished cake in half, and spreading on a raspberry jam or homemade lemon curd.  YUM!

After testing with two cakes, I suggest using a light colored baking pan as it produced a lighter (in color) cake. 
Also I would suggest using a mixer to beat the egg whites to a stiff peak and adding the yolks in to the mixer to blend, then fold in the remaining ingredients by hand with a spatula.  It really does make a difference in the cakes density.  Don't get me wrong...they were both delish, but the second produced airier results.  Lauren does everything by hand, including the egg whites.  (She Rocks!)
One other thing...Lauren's recipe bakes at 400 degrees for approx. 1 hour.  I found in my oven, it was beautifully done in 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  Maybe my oven is just a lot hotter.  

Pairing Suggestion:  My favorite match would be a Canadian Ice Wine.  I think that you would agree!

Vanilla Angel Cake
Slightly adapted from French Food at Home (Lauren Calder) 

Ingredients
6 eggs, separated (yolks will go in later) 
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla powder (original recipes calls for vanilla extract) 
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour 
Fresh berries for serving
top with homemade whipped cream or creme fraiche

Direction 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and line with parchment paper a 9-inch light colored round cake pan.  
Beat the whites to stiff peaks in a mixer.  Beat in the yolks,  one at a time.  Fold in by hand the sugar, vanilla and sifted flour.  You should have a very high, moussy batter.  

Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake until golden on top, risen high, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  (My oven runs hot...you may need a little longer to cook your cake.)

Let the cake cool for about 20 minutes and transfer to a serving platter.  
Cover with fruit and serve with garnish of your choice (whipped cream, creme fraiche or ice cream.) 

Enjoy!

Vanilla Scented Strawberry Brown Butter Bettys

Strawberries seem to be everywhere out here....with the farmers markets practically giving them away, it's not surprising that every week I find myself walking away with three or more pints of the oh-so-lush ruby fruit.  Then comes the thoughts of, "what other sweet treats can come of these beauties?"    
That's when I stumbled upon Deb's recipe at Smitten Kitchen of these little gems.  Of course they were a must try the instant that I saw them.  Even though they were perfect as is, I only slightly adapted them to suit my love of vanilla.  

Wine Pairing:  A superb pairing would be a Canadian Icewine.  YUM!  (look for a blog soon dedicated to this alluring sip) 

Vanilla Scented Strawberry Brown Butter Bettys
Adapted slightly from SmittenKitchen
Makes 6 Bettys

Ingredients
1 stick salted or unsalted butter
1 tsp granulated sugar
6 slices good quality white bread, crusts removed
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
1 tsp vanilla powder (can use 1 tsp vanilla extract)
1/8 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 cups strawberries, stemmed and sliced
vanilla ice cream or creme anglaise to serve

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in middle.

In a small pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Once melted, reduce heat to medium-low.  The butter will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty.  Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do.  Don't take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is less than a minute.  Remove from heat. 

Lightly butter muffin cups with some of the brown butter, then sprinkle with granulated sugar.  Roll bread slices with a rolling pin to flatten.  Brush both sides with additional brown butter, then gently fit into muffin cups. 

Stir together brown sugar, zest, salt, vanilla powder and panko, then add strawberries and toss to coat.  Stir in remaining brown butter.  heap strawberry mixture into cups, pressing gently.

Cover pan with foil and bake 15 minutes.  Uncover and bake until strawberries are very tender, about 10 minutes more.  Let stand 5 minutes before removing from pan.  Serve warm or at room temp. 

I served with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream. 

Enjoy!