Blueberry Angel Food Cake

Forgive the exuberance if it comes exuding through in this post, but I am still blinking my eyes and pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming and that yes, I really did get a vegan angel food cake to work using Ener-G egg replacer.  I've seen other vegan bloggers try to replicate the airy texture of angel food cake (often with tofu), but I can't believe more people aren't on to the secret that if you beat Ener-G egg replacer for 12 minutes, you come up with a stiff, thick, glossy mixture that is like egg whites.  The only question remaining was whether or not this mixture would set enough into a cake batter, once in the oven.  The answer?  Success!  Read on.

Ingredients:
For the cake:

• 1 and 1/2 cups vegan sugar, divided
• 1 cup cake flour
• 12 Ener-G eggs
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups blueberries
• 2 tablespoons cake flour
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

For the glaze:

• 1 cup vegan powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1. Sift together 1/2 cup of the sugar and 1 cup flour through a flour sifter or fine-mesh sieve into a bowl; set aside.

2. Make the Ener-G eggs in a large bowl (you'll need 6 tablespoons of the powder whisked into 1 and 1/2 cups warm water).  Beat with a hand mixer for 12 minutes, until the mixture is thick and stiff like egg whites. After the first minute, add the cream of tartar and salt.  At about the 6 minute mark, begin adding the remaining 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time.

(Note: be sure to use your largest mixing bowl for this process - the mixture is going to have a lot of volume).

3. Sift the cake flour mixture over the Ener-G mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, and gently fold in.  Fold in the vanilla extract and blueberries.  Although you could use either fresh or frozen blueberries, I chose fresh.  Next time, however, I might go with frozen since they are smaller and more uniform in size; I found that it was hard to fold in some of the larger, fresh blueberries, and they clumped together in batches, as seen in my final photo in this post.

4. Sift the remaining 2 tablespoons cake flour over the lemon rind in a bowl, and toss to coat.  Sprinkle the lemon rind mixture over the cake batter, and fold in.

5. Spoon the batter into a 10-inch angel food cake pan, spreading evenly.  Run a knife through the batter to break up any air pockets.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes - I couldn't believe (peaking through the window of the oven) how wonderfully puffed in volume my cake became, and the lovely golden tinge it took on.

6. Remove from the oven and invert the pan over a plate.  If the cake doesn't fall out on its own, use a narrow metal spatula to release it from the sides of the pan; cool completely.  Alas, the cake deflated quite a bit the moment it was out of the oven (the batter was all the way to the top just before opening the oven door), but the sponge-y, spring-y texture remained.

7. To prepare the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice.  Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Nutrition Info:
8 servings (1 slice), Calories 297 

Tasting Notes:
I still can hardly get over the fact that this cake worked.  The texture was soft and sponge-y and delicious, and there was great blueberry and lemon flavor.  I actually would use less lemon glaze on top, since the tart lemon distracted from the cake itself, but overall, I was so pleased with this dessert.

Update: for more fun success whipping Ener-G egg replacer into egg whites, please see my posts for Chocolate and Berry-Covered Meringue and Arugula and Cheese Souffle.

Rating:
4