Chocolate Angel Food Cake

• servings: 12
• active time: 40 minutes
• total time: 2 hours

Ingredients

Chocolate angel food cake:

¾ cup cake flour (not self-rising)

¼ cup unsweetened nonalkalized cocoa powder

1½ cups confectioners sugar

12 large egg whites, at room temperature

1½ teaspoons cream of tartar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup granulated sugar

Cocoa-rum cream:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened nonalka- lized cocoa powder, sifted

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon dark rum

Directions

PREPARATION: 40 minutes plus baking and cooling times.

Make the chocolate angel food cake:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Have ready a 10-inch tube pan (with removable bottom).

Sift the cake flour, cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar together onto a piece of waxed paper three times; set aside.

In the 4½-quart bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer, using the wire whip attachment, beat the egg whites at medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and vanilla and beat at high speed, adding the sugar gradually, until the whites are glossy and stiff, but not dry. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl.

In three batches, resift the flour/cocoa mixture over the whites and gently fold in with a large rubber spatula just until combined. Scrape the batter into the tube pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, until the cake begins to pull away from the side of the pan. Remove the pan from the oven and invert over the neck of a bottle. Cool the inverted cake completely.

Turn the pan right-side-up and run a knife between the cake and the side of the pan to loosen it. Remove the side of the pan (the cake will still be attached to the base). Using the knife, loosen the cake from the pan and invert the cake onto plate.

Make the cocoa-rum cream:

In a chilled medium bowl, stir together the cream, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and rum (the mixture will not be cohesive). Using a hand-held electric mixer set at medium-high speed, beat the mix- ture until stiff peaks just start to form.

Serve a slice of the chocolate angel food cake with a dollop of the cocoa-rum cream.