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Angel Food Pans


phlawless

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I'm wondering about the difference between using non-stick and regular angel food pans. Does the coating affect color, or the rise? What about bake time?

"Godspeed all the bakers at dawn... may they all cut their thumbs and bleed into their buns til they melt away..."

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I've never used a non-stick angel food pan. I don't even grease my pan when making an angel food cake or sponge cake, because I like to cool these fragile constuctions upside down to reduce deflation. With a non-stick, I would be afraid of slippage. Why would non-stick be desirable for an angel food cake pan? They are really easy to clean. Removing the cake couldn't be simpler -- just run a knife around the perimeter to release the cake.

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Absolutely DO NOT get a non-stick angel food cake pan. Cakes usually made in these pans - such as angel food and chiffon - need to stick to the sides of the pan as they bake or they'll rise very little and will fall. Also, remember to turn the pan upside down immediatley after removing the baked cake from the oven and cool it completely, suspended above the counter on something like the neck of a wine bottle.

Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Cake Bible" has exellent directions and recipes for several chiffon cakes and a chocolate angel food cake.

Edit: I see Sandra beat me to it. :smile:

Edited by nightscotsman (log)
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I have one of each - non-stick and regular non-shiny aluminum. If there is any difference in the height of the cakes - it is slight and you'd have to have to use a ruler to tell. Made an orange chiffon in the non-stick yesterday and it did just fine, was cooled over a bottle and didn't slip, exited brilliantly and clean-up was a snap. I won't swear that this is the norm, but I have no problems with mine.

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I have one of each - non-stick and regular non-shiny aluminum.  If there is any difference in the height of the cakes - it is slight and you'd have to have to use a ruler to tell.  Made an orange chiffon in the non-stick yesterday and it did just fine, was cooled over a bottle and didn't slip, exited brilliantly and clean-up was a snap.  I won't swear that this is the norm, but I have no problems with mine.

Interesting. What recipe did you use? Have you also tried angel food cake in the non-stick pan with similar results?

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I agree that I don't see any necessity for a non-stick surface on an angel food cake pan. And I would be a little worried that the crust might get too brown on a non-stick.

BTW: I have never been to a resale shop -ever-t hat did not have like- new AF cake pans for fifty cents to a dollar.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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A couple of years ago I bought a non-stick angel food pan with out thinking anything about it.

The center is too narrow to place over a wine bottle! :angry: so I had to rig a contraption of some wooden sppons taped to togther placed in a flower vase. I left it hanging upside down, left the house and came back a couple hours later and found the cake had slid out of the pan, half of it wedged into the vase and completely smashed in.

It still tasted good! :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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  • 3 years later...

I am going to make the angel food cake, I even separate eggs, but realised that special angel food pan is needed... I can't find it here (angel food cake is not common, I think noone even heard here about it). I never tried it but was told it is fine!

I want to bake, want to try. May I use a different pan? I got a pan for cakes (rectangular) and a cake pan with (quite wide) tube in the center but with ribbed bottom.

What do you think?

Edited by lenabo (log)

I love to decorate cakes and you may see my cakes here: http://foto.mail.ru/mail/bonya_l/1

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I am going to make the angel food cake, I even separate eggs, but realised that special angel food pan is needed... I can't find it here (angel food cake is not common, I think noone even heard here about it). I never tried it but was told it is fine!

I want to bake, want to try. May I use a different pan? I got a pan for cakes (rectangular) and a cake pan with (quite wide) tube in the center but with ribbed bottom.

What do you think?

Give it a try with the pan with the tube in the centre and see what happens. Just don't grease it. Even better if it has never been greased in the past. We can always find you an angel food pan at a thrift store and mail it to you if it doesn't work. They are a dime a dozen in this country.

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I am going to make the angel food cake, I even separate eggs, but realised that special angel food pan is needed... I can't find it here (angel food cake is not common, I think noone even heard here about it). I never tried it but was told it is fine!

I want to bake, want to try. May I use a different pan? I got a pan for cakes (rectangular) and a cake pan with (quite wide) tube in the center but with ribbed bottom.

What do you think?

My aunt regularly bakes chiffon cakes in rectangular 9x13 pans. I think she bakes at 325F for about 25 minutes. I would imagine you could do the same with angel food cake. You could also use your tube pan, but usually tube pans as you describe are non-stick, and that wouldn't be a good idea to use a non-stick pan.

Editing yet another post (it's late for me here!), because I forgot to mention that even when using a rectangular pan, you still have to invert it. In this case, only for about 5 minutes, then use a knife to very gently pry the cake from the pan before it cools. If you wait until it's fully cooled, you own't be able to get it out in one piece.

Edited by prasantrin (log)
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Definitely non-stick for the reason people have noted. If you're out getting a new one, look for one where the center tube is taller than the edge of the pan. That way you can let the cake cool upside down simply by turning the pan upside down and letting it sit on the tube. That part isn't a big deal but if you're getting a new pan anyway, why not?

Michelle Pham

I like pie.

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I have some non-stick tube and cone-tube pans but have never used them for angel-food, chiffon or any other type of sponge cake. I use the non-stick ones for fruit cakes and seed cakes, etc.

I have old ones that have the three "legs" to make it easy to stand the pans upside-down.

I also have some extra long loaf pans with "legs" at the corners, also to rest the pans upside-down.

They are available from this vendor.

and from this vendor in two round sizes as well as the long loaf pan.

NexTag also carries a few of this type.

I recommend them as being much easier to use than the ones that need to be balanced on a bottle.

I do have some very old ones that have the central cone 1 1/2 inch longer than the sides and unless the cake itself is lopsided, it will balance on the center cone.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I would also recommend a standard aluminum pan with a removeable bottom (center) and "feet." I used a non-stick AF pan until recently and will never buy one again. Since you're not greasing the sides, it's far too easy nick the non-stick coating. With the cheap pan I was using, it caused the coating to begin flaking off.

For the removeable bottom, I would suggest finding one that doesn't flare, like an older AF pan I saw recently. This would make it hard to run a knife down the center to remove the cake.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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I would also recommend a standard aluminum pan with a removeable bottom (center) and "feet." I used a non-stick AF pan until recently and will never buy one again. Since you're not greasing the sides, it's far too easy nick the non-stick coating. With the cheap pan I was using, it caused the coating to begin flaking off.

For the removeable bottom, I would suggest finding one that doesn't flare, like an older  AF pan I saw recently. This would make it hard to run a knife down the center to remove the cake.

Here's a tip for that problem. Get one of these

This "letter opener" has a blade that is very thin and smooth on both edges and is perfect for inserting along the inner and outer edges of a sponge cake without scratching the cake pan sides.

Go to Staples or Office Depot and check them out in person. I have several that I use in the kitchen for several jobs of this type. It also goes around tight corners nicely.

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Here's a tip for that problem.  Get one of these.

The link doesn't work but I can guess what you're talking about. I might look into it. I've been using a dull paring knife and that's worked fine so far. Fortunately, it's no longer an issue since I tossed the non-stick AF pan.:biggrin:

Edited by sanrensho (log)
Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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I have the long loaf pan with little feet that Wilton makes for angel food and pound type loaves. Yes it works but not well for some less dense cake applications.

So an ungreased loaf tin works fairly well with angel food cakes because there isn't a lot of cake width to support as it rises. The pans that have straight sides work the best, from my experience, the narrow pans. However regular pans do not work well for angel food cakes as they seem to need the centre tube support to help with the climb to achieve full volume and height. I don't find this an issue with chiffon cake recipes however.

Definitely go with a regular two piece angel food/tube style pan over a non-stick pan for the best results for angel food cakes. Again, doesn't seem to be near the issue with some chiffon cake recipes as it is with angel food. And if you get a one piece, you will soon dent the bottom of the pan while thumping it to try to get the cake released, two piece is so much better. I have all three types and rarely ever use the non-stick version for anything. I use an ordinary dinner knife to release the cake from the sides of the pan. The blade are long and flat and don't damage the cake sides or the pans.

I make a lot of angel food cakes for dieters and diabetics. I also make a fair amount of chiffon cakes, with some recipes I do find better results with the tube pans but some are fine no matter what pan you use.

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Here's a tip for that problem.  Get one o

The link doesn't work but I can guess what you're talking about. I might look into it. I've been using a dull paring knife and that's worked fine so far. Fortunately, it's no longer an issue since I tossed the non-stick AF pan.:biggrin:

I just corrected the link to this letter opener at Office Depot

The blade is a lot longer than most paring knives and I have found all kinds of kitchen uses for these gadgets.

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I make a lot of angel food cakes for dieters and diabetics. 

Hi Squirrelly Cakes,

I am curious about your diabetic angle food cake recipe -- I've been afraid to try a foam cake with a sugar sub (worried about the stability of the foam). How do you approach this?

Hi Ruth,

Sorry I should have been more specific. I don't make them sugar free, I make them normally. I know you can purchase sugar free angel food cake in the U.S., not that I have seen in Canada though. I don't bake sugar-free, I find it a huge disappointment and I have tried about every sugar substitute out there. So I prefer to not offer a product of less than satisfactory quality.

My husband was recently diagnosed diabetic. Empty white carbohydrates are the big issue with diabetics and for most, some sugar when used moderately on special occasions, is not an issue as long as the correct combinations of other foods are used. So the angel food cake has to be taken into account with the other items at a meal.

I do get orders for Angel Food Cakes, for diabetic customers. Usually they are also on fat restricted diets so it is a better choice for them. I make up a raspberry or strawberry coulis and they can have whipped cream if not too fat restricted or use a sugar free Cool Whip topping. The recipe I use is from Martha Stewart's "Baking Handbook", so far my absolute favourite method with best results and it uses only 1 cup cake flour and 1 1/2 cups of superfine sugar, in addition to the egg whites, flavouring, water, salt and extract and cream of tartar.

I have found that most diabetics who can have some white sugar in their diet on rare occasions, prefer to have a real cake as opposed to an artificially sweetened cake.

1/12 to 1/16 of an Angel Food Cake is generally acceptable in most diabetics' diets, particularily when the topping is sugar free or fruit containing natural sugar.

Haha, sorry for the detail, it is something new for me to have to deal with personally in my own household, so I am learning and researching all the time. I always had an interest in this for extended family, friends and customers but it is much more significant in my life at the moment.

A friend of mine sent me this recipe using a purchased sugar-free Angel Food cake.

STRAWBERRY DIABETIC CAKE

One already made sugarfree Angel Food Cake

2 regular size boxes Jello, Sugarfree Strawberry

1 container Cool Whip (sugar-free)

Fresh Strawberries(save one whole)for garnish

Cut SB up in small pieces and layer them in the bottom of a bunt pan, (spray with pam) Non stick if possible

Break up the cake and put in the pan

Mix Jello as directed and pour on top of the cake and spoon it all around on the cake till cake is smooth and covered. Sit in refrigerator for several hours.

After done, dip pan for 2 or 3 sec in hot water to help break it loose from pan then turn out on plate. Sometimes it takes a few min. for the mold to turn loose. Fill hole with Coolwhip and outside round the cake. Garnish center with strawberry.

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I make a lot of angel food cakes for dieters and diabetics. 

Hi Squirrelly Cakes,

I am curious about your diabetic angle food cake recipe -- I've been afraid to try a foam cake with a sugar sub (worried about the stability of the foam). How do you approach this?

Hi Ruth,

Sorry I should have been more specific. I don't make them sugar free, I make them normally. I know you can purchase sugar free angel food cake in the U.S., not that I have seen in Canada though. I don't bake sugar-free, I find it a huge disappointment and I have tried about every sugar substitute out there. So I prefer to not offer a product of less than satisfactory quality.

I'm of the same philosophy, SQ -- I've been disappointed with almost every sugar-free or sugar-substitute recipe or tweak that I've attempted, and I feel that a small piece of the real thing is much more satisfying than a big hunk of something that's not up to par.

That being said, I will say that I've had reasonable success substituting Splenda (the regular flaked Splenda, not the "for baking" product) for some (half to two-thirds) of the sugar in lemon curds and lemon custards. The lemon is strong enough to block most of the Splenda aftertaste and the product has fewer bad carbs than it did before.

Edited by RuthWells (log)
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Hi Ruth,

That is true and I have found when you can use a combination, sometimes you get a decent result. But replacing sugar totally with any of the other sweeteners in most things, just isn't satisfactory. I find cookies more tolerant of using sweeteners to some degree.

Haha, yes I think I have made more than my share of "Michelin" rubber cakes with slime icing, over the years, to not really believe that good cake results are possible without sugar.

I am with you, a small serving of the real thing is a better option in most cases.

Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

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...

I am with you, a small serving of the real thing is a better option in most cases.

Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

As a non-insulin dependent diabetic (controlled by diet alone) I would wholeheartedly agree. And for anyone who hasn't experienced the effects of maltitol on their digestive system, be very careful. My personal motto is to eat well balanced, nutritious meals, and if you must have a sweet, don't waste your option on anything but the real deal. Now, I know not everyone is in my exact situation, so I'm not dispensing advice here. Just personal philosphy.

Cheryl, The Sweet Side
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  • 1 year later...

a friend just asked me if i would make his wedding cake for him, and of course i said yes :smile: the bride would really like an angel food cake. can anyone offer any tips or advice on baking angel food cake in non-traditional pans (i.e. regular round layers) - can it even be done? they're very relaxed & flexible, so i know they'll be cool with it if we end up having to go with the regular tube pan shape, but it would be so much nicer if i could give them something that looks like a traditional wedding cake.

any thoughts?

thanks!

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