Angel Food Cake

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Sunday/FamilyTurn off the oven and turn on the microwave and grill for Indoor-Outdoor Pork Roast with a honey-mustard sauce (see recipe)

What makes angel food cake so appealing to a cake love who's watching dietary fat intake is that it contains no butter, oil or egg yolks. The secret ingredient is egg whites. At only 16 calories, an egg white has zero fat but more than half the total protein of a whole egg. Still, for a cake to qualify as angel food, the whites must be properly beaten and the other ingredients carefully folded into them.The process involves first beating the whites to the foamy stage, when white "suds" start to form.

Exactly what is a trifle, and is there any room for a slice in a low-fat diet?First off, a trifle is a layering of cake, filling and whipped topping that is served in a glass bowl or trifle dish. That's what makes a trifle so appealing for parties. The presentation of the different-colored layers in your glass trifle bowl can be dazzling.Second, although you might find it a little hard to believe, the following trifles are all low in fat, less than 10 grams per slice. So, indulge yourself and your guests without guilt.

A nut-bread recipe that was on the old Bisquick box was the request of Frankie Zehrung of Shelton, Wash.A host of nut-bread lovers responded with the recipe. They included Jan Miller of St. Augustine, Fla., Lily M. Butt of Perry Hall, Mrs. Arthur R. Mason of Baltimore, Peggy Winchell of Fayetteville, N.C., and Vivian J. Glover of Joppatowne.Nut bread3 cups Bisquick1/2 cup sugar1 egg1 1/4 cups milk1 1/2 cups chopped nutsPreheat oven to 350 degrees.Blend first four ingredients and beat hard for 30 seconds.

Everyone loves Passover -- all the special foods, the extra-long Seder with lots of discussion, the sense of participation in a continuous and living history.Because this holiday is so important, I always try to underline the occasion by preparing some dish that is as wonderful and outstanding as the holiday itself, recipes fit for the reclining royalty emulated on this occasion.Given the difficult food rules of Passover, not to mention those of kosher, it isn't easy to come up with many extra-special recipes worthy of the occasion.

Angel food cake improves with age. As the age of the eater increases, so does the level of appreciation for the cake.When I was a kid, angel food never made my most-favored cake list. It seemed like a pretend cake to me, more like spongy white bread than dessert.Now, as a veteran eater, I regard angel food cake as celestial stuff.I have been spending time thinking about angel food cake. I probably should be analyzing weighty matters like whether my state and federal withholding is at the proper level, or whether my IRA is performing up to market expectations.

We all have favorite recipes of which we never tire: an easy spaghetti sauce, a perfect salad dressing or a quick marinade for grilled chicken, but our recipe files can get pretty thin when we look for cakes that are simple and fast enough to throw together at a moment's notice.Cake mixes are an attempt to fill the gap, but they often mean dragging out a mixer and dirtying several bowls.However, there is a cake-making method (as easy as any mix) that yields high-rising, moist cakes, ready for baking in less than 10 minutes, and requiring no more equipment than a whisk and a saucepan.

Q: I have a problem freezing my freshly-baked fruit pies. How can I prevent them from getting watery when they thaw?A: Judith Choate, author of "The Great American Pie Book," recommends freezing fruit pies only if unbaked. If preparing a pie that calls for a pre-baked filling, such as a berry filling, let that cool before placing the unbaked pie in a plastic bag and sealing. Otherwise, for such pies as apple or pear pie, prepare entire pie up to baking point. Some frozen unbaked pies can actually be baked while still frozen.

Commercial low-fat desserts are commonly found in supermarkets. However, home cooks don't need to buy new-fangled products to serve heart-healthy desserts. Homemade angel food cake has always been virtually fat-free.The following recipe for chocolate angel food cake with coffee sauce combines two outstanding flavors in one delicious dessert. The cake is made with egg whites, cocoa, sugar and cake flour and contains absolutely no fat. The sauce is made with instant coffee, rum or brandy and low-fat milk, and thickened with a cornstarch.

THIS SIMPLE DESSERT, which uses angel food cake mix a its base, has a creamy melon flavor. It's the perfect way to use cantaloupes from the backyard or a farmer's market. The dessert can be prepared up to 24 hours before serving.9- This recipe is from Thomas J. Lipton Inc.Angel Food Torte with Cantaloupe Mousse1 18.25-ounce package angel food cake mix1 envelope unflavored gelatin1/4 cup cold water1 teaspoon fresh lime juice3 cups cantaloupe, about 1 medium, pureed1/4 cup sugar1 teaspoon fresh grated lime peel1/2 teaspoon rum extract, optional1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawedBake angel food cake mix in 10-inch tube pan according to package directions; cool on wire rack.

Angel food cake for Mother's Day? Some might see it as punishment. I taste possibilities. At a time when the nation is watching its waistline in virtually every sense, this light, airy dessert lets a mom have her cake and eat it, too. Made from scratch, perhaps scented with a bit of rosewater or lemon zest, angel food cake is lovely and dialed down, a dessert without regrets. Add a delicate glaze, a berry garnish, a dab of whipped cream or a sweet sabayon sauce, and you've created options for the lady of the day to add on as she pleases.

My mother readily admitted that she didn't like to cook, and as a result I have few memories of helping out in the kitchen as a youngster. She was, however, thrilled when I ended up in the food world, and would have been pleased that I have passed my love of cooking on to my son, who in turn is sharing his culinary curiosity with his 3-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter. For Mother's Day, I know that Mike and his two kids will want to serve something special to honor the mom in their house, and I have a new recipe for the occasion.

I have a poundcake recipe that is baked in a large bundt pan. I would like to make smaller ones in mini-bundt pans. Is there a rule of thumb for this conversion? Timing and volume are the two main concerns when changing a baking pan from the one called for in a recipe. There isn't a rigid formula for the timing when changing the size of your bundt pan, so you'll have to check the doneness within a time range. We found Sarah Phillips' pan-conversion chart (which compares baking-pan size and volume)

Susan Rose of Baltimore was looking for a recipe from the 1960s for a refrigerator cake made with fresh strawberries, angel food cake, Jell-O and other ingredients. Ele Piche of Fort Collins, Colo., sent in a recipe for Strawberry Angel Dessert that sounds similar to what Rose was looking for. The recipe was her mother-in-law's and is a family favorite. I tested this recipe using store-bought angel food cake and fresh local strawberries. I used an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom, which made it easier to unmold the cake once it had chilled overnight.

Vivian Borden from Santa Margarita, Calif., was looking for a recipe for a spongecake that is baked in the traditional angel food or tube pan. She says that many people today seem to confuse a spongecake with an angel food cake. The primary difference between the two cakes is that an angel food cake never contains egg yolks, whereas a spongecake should contain either whole eggs or a combination of yolks and beaten egg whites with the addition of a leavening agent. Jean Peterson from Independence, Ore., sent us her spongecake recipe that she has used for more than 35 years.

This week's menus Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an enter-taining menu that's...

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Sunday/FamilyTurn off the oven and turn on the microwave and grill for Indoor-Outdoor Pork Roast with a honey-mustard sauce (see recipe)

Exactly what is a trifle, and is there any room for a slice in a low-fat diet?First off, a trifle is a layering of cake, filling and whipped topping that is served in a glass bowl or trifle dish. That's what makes a trifle so appealing for parties. The presentation of the different-colored layers in your glass trifle bowl can be dazzling.Second, although you might find it a little hard to believe, the following trifles are all low in fat, less than 10 grams per slice. So, indulge yourself and your guests without guilt.

What makes angel food cake so appealing to a cake love who's watching dietary fat intake is that it contains no butter, oil or egg yolks. The secret ingredient is egg whites. At only 16 calories, an egg white has zero fat but more than half the total protein of a whole egg. Still, for a cake to qualify as angel food, the whites must be properly beaten and the other ingredients carefully folded into them.The process involves first beating the whites to the foamy stage, when white "suds" start to form.

A nut-bread recipe that was on the old Bisquick box was the request of Frankie Zehrung of Shelton, Wash.A host of nut-bread lovers responded with the recipe. They included Jan Miller of St. Augustine, Fla., Lily M. Butt of Perry Hall, Mrs. Arthur R. Mason of Baltimore, Peggy Winchell of Fayetteville, N.C., and Vivian J. Glover of Joppatowne.Nut bread3 cups Bisquick1/2 cup sugar1 egg1 1/4 cups milk1 1/2 cups chopped nutsPreheat oven to 350 degrees.Blend first four ingredients and beat hard for 30 seconds.