Mini Angel Food Cakes with Sticky, White Icing

   Hey there! It's Monday morning!....and I feel like poo poo...
   It was a weekend filled with visiting people, staying up too late, and also dealing with an issue we had with Caleb (our oldest child), and trying to emotionally process that while carrying on with life 'as usual'. In a lot of ways, being busy was the best because whenever we stopped we started to really think, and thinking made us anxious. Everything will be fine, in case anyone is wondering, but we're just trying to get a hold of a situation and figure out what is best for everyone involved. 
   Anyway, on Friday night we stayed late at some friends who we don't get to hang out with nearly enough, then Saturday we had friends stop by first thing in the morning (...we were literally just rolling out of bed as they pulled in the driveway!), then I went to a friends for a girls night, and we had a great time chatting and looking through Glamour, Seventeen & Cosmopolitan magazines from the '70's and '80's (they were alarming, amusing, and educational!). Sunday night we went to a surprise birthday party, and had a great time. 
   Now, I'm pooped. I'm completely socialized out!!! 
   Today I have no rehearsal (phew...), but I do on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and I would on Friday too except the cast from my show is going to support another theatre nearby and see their show. If you live around here, The Pirates of Penzance is playing at The Regent Theatre in Picton this Thursday until Sunday!

   Anywho, angel food cakes! 
   My husbands birthday was waaaaaay back in February. His favourite cake (because his Mom always made for him growing up) is angel food cake (with that fantastic sticky, white icing). Now, making an entire angel food cake if we have a group of adults coming over to help us eat it seems exceptable. Making one for our family seems excessive. Especially because Caleb is gluten free, I (mostly) eat paleo, and Adam doesn't actually like sweets that much. The girls would eat an entire cake to themselves, but they really shouldn't... 
   So, I wondered if I could make half a cake recipe into mini cakes? A lot of what I read (on the www) said that I couldn't without a mini angel food cake pan (who the heck owns one of those?!?), but I thought, "meh, I'm going to try anyway!".
   I own some beautiful antique mini cake pans (they are really jelly moulds, I think) and thought they would make darling mini cakes. They did. 
   These cakes can also be made as mini cupcakes, or regular sized cupcakes (with adjusted baking times), but I think I will never go back to a fussy, full sized angel food cake. These were such a lovely size, stored easily, kept well, and made perfect little portions. 
   Now, the sticky, white icing is a dessert marvel! There are a few ways to make it, but my way is the best. ;)  No big deal.
   Most "7 minute icing" recipes need a double boiler, a candy thermometer, two separate steps of boiling the sugar and water, then whipping the egg whites, then slowly pouring on into the other, then whipping some more. Mine (a recipe from my Mum) uses NO candy thermometer, a metal bowl set over a simmering pot (a make-shift double boiler), and you just throw everything in all at once and stand there whipping it up. Ta-daaa!!! 

   Lovely, right? You have to (ok, you don't have to, but it's the best) to have some fresh, cut up strawberries to go with this. Yumm-o.
   
   Alright, Monday, here I come! 
   I've been working on a list of "spring-time clean up" things, though I'm a little stuck at the moment. I want to re-organize my pantry, but (hopefully) in June we'll be doing our kitchen re-do, and I want to rip this pantry out and build/create/acquire a more fitting to our house piece. I guess that's not going to happen for over a month, but I want to organize the pantry with baskets, jars, etc., but I don't know 100% yet what the new pantry will look like and if I will end up needing/wanting whatever I get now to organize the pantry...I suppose I could just use whatever I get now someplace else if they end up not being needed in the new pantry....I'm just rambling to myself, ignore me!  
   Have a great day one and all! 

Mini Angel Food Cakes
*This makes about 24 mini cupcakes, or 12 regular sized ones (or 16 small jelly moulds)

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites (roughly 1/2 cup)-room temperature
• 1/2 tsp cream of tarter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
• ⅓ cup sifted flour
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Add egg whites to a bowl and let them sit at room temperature (can take up to one hour) if they aren't already room temperature
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Line a mini-cupcake pan with cupcake liners (or set mini liners inside a larger cupcake pan if you don't have a mini pan). For my jelly moulds I only super-duper lightly greased it. Angel food needs to be able to cling and rise up the sides of it's pan, so over greasing can keep it from rising. F.Y.I. 
4. Whisk together the powdered sugar and flour in a bowl
5. In another bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until they are foamy
6. Add cream of tarter, then beat at medium-high speed until soft peaks form (about 5 minutes)
7. Add sugar while continuing to mix on medium speed, then add the vanilla extract
8. Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients over the egg whites and gently fold with a spatula until combined
9. Repeat with the rest of the dry ingredients until everything is combined. Make sure you do not over-stir the batter
10. Use a small Pampered Chef scoop, or a tablespoon to fill each (mini) liner with batter until 3/4 full
11. Bake for 20 minutes, or until tops are lightly brown (you'll need to bake a little longer for full sized cupcakes)
12. Let cool completely

White Sticky Frosting


*This icing should only be made when your cake is ready and cooled. It is very sticky, and develops a 'skin'  after its been made and is sitting out. That's fine, as long as it's on your cake/cupcakes already! :)  


Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
  
• 3/4 cup white sugar
  
• 1/3 cup corn syrup
  
• 2 tablespoons water
  

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
  

Method: 

1. Place a pot with a few inches of water onto the stove and bring to a simmer 
2. Meanwhile, in a metal bowl (that will fit onto the pot without touching the bottom of it/the simmering water), place all of the ingredients. Yes, all of them!
3. Place bowl over simmering pot, and, using a hand mixer, start to whip up the ingredients on med-high speed. 
4. Keep whipping until stiff peaks form and you've got an amazing, fluffy icing! 
5. It's magic! :)  The End.