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Pastel Angel Food Cake
Super-tender, fluffy, spongy pastel layered Angel Food Cake covered in billowy pastel Marshmallow Frosting and sprinkles!
Ingredients
For the tri-colour cake:
  • 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons 140 g cake flour
  • 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons 150 g confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups 13-14 egg whites, room temperature (left out about 1 hour)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons 180 g superfine sugar (see Sweetapolita's Notes)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract--see Notes
  • 1/8 teaspoon almond extract see Notes
  • Pink Purple and Turquoise soft gel paste food color (see Notes)
For the pastel purple marshmallow frosting:
  • 6 egg whites 180 g
  • 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons 390 g granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons 45 g light corn syrup (see Notes)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
  • Purple soft gel paste food color see Notes
  • Sprinkles of your choice I used Sweetapolita "Peep Show Sprinkle Medley"
Instructions
Make the pastel angel food cake:
  1. Arrange oven rack to the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift the cake flour, confectioners' sugar and salt together 4 times. Set aside.
  2. Wipe the bowl and whisk attachment of an electric mixer with paper towel and lemon juice, to remove any trace of grease. Add the egg whites and beat on the lowest speed until they start to become frothy, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and sprinkle the cream of tartar over the egg whites. Beat on medium speed until the egg whites thicken just slightly and you can see swirl lines in the mixture from the whisk (very soft peaks), about 1 minute. Add the superfine sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until the egg whites thicken and reach soft/medium, droopy (not stiff) peaks, 1-2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract.
  3. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Sift the dry ingredients 1/4 at a time on top of the meringue and fold gently but thoroughly with a rubber spatula.
  4. Divide the batter evenly into 3 bowls and add a few drops of each colour to create each tinted batter layer by folding every so gently until blended: few drops Soft Pink to one bowl; Regal Purple to another; turquoise to the third.
  5. Gently transfer the batter, one layer at a time, to an ungreased 10" angel food cake pan and smoothing each with a small offset spatula or back of a spoon. Bake on the lower rack of the oven until the top of the cake springs back when touched lightly, and when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Don't check the cake before 35 minutes, or you could deflate your cake, but also try not to over-bake.
  6. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the whole pan onto a wire rack so it cools upside down. Let cool for one hour and then loosen sides around the center and outside of the cake using a thin metal spatula or knife. Gently coax the cake out of the pan onto the wire rack and let cool completely. Take your time with this step--you can even use your fingers to loosed the bottom edges, by reaching down between the cake and the pan, pushing the cake away from the sides. It will bounce right back. Do this all around the bottom before pulling the cake out of the pan.
Make the marshmallow frosting:
  1. Wipe the bowl and whisk attachment of an electric mixer with paper towel and lemon juice, to remove any trace of grease. Add egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling), whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 130°F (54°C) on a candy thermometer.
  2. Return the bowl to the stand mixer and beat on low speed for 2 minutes, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 more minutes. Increase the speed to high and beat until it is very thick and glossy, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and food colour, if using, and beat to combine. Best used right away (for best texture to apply frosting to the cake--after that it's best enjoyed up to 1-2 days at room temperature).
Frost the cake:
  1. Place the cake wide end down onto a cake plate, board or pedestal. Pile the frosting on top of the cake and use a metal spatula to spread the frosting from the top down. Create swirls using the back of a spoon and sprinkle with your favourite sprinkles. Slice cake using a serrated knife in a gentle sawing motion. Cake keeps at room temperature for up to 2 days. Best enjoyed day 1 (the cake stays very moist for days, but marshmallow frosting is best enjoyed sooner than later).