• 1 c. sifted cake flour
• 1-1/2 c. sugar
• 9 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract (optional

1. Sift flour and 1/2 cup of sugar.
2. Beat egg whites until foamy.
3. Add salt and cream of tartar until whites hold soft peaks.
4. Beat in remaining sugar and extracts until stiff peaks.
5. Fold in flour mixture.
6. Turn into an ungreased tube pan and bake 45-60 minutes at 325 degrees.
7. Invert cake and cool.
8. To fill, split cake horizontally.
9. Fill with fresh fruit (e.g., sliced berries macerated in sugar), prepared pudding, or lemon curd.
10. If desired, ice with fresh Chantilly cream (whipping cream, sugar, & vanilla).
11. Most recently, I used a filling of fresh, halved cherries, tossed with sugar and almond extract. I then added a little of the excess liquid to the cream to give the icing a whisper of cherry flavoring.
12. The tartness of the cherries gave a nice contrast to the light, airy angel food.

I've adapted a recipe from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything," which is super-simple, and quite versatile. The cake is pretty tasty by itself, but I've taken to jazzing it up a little by filling the cake and icing it with fresh, whipped cream.