Angel Food Cupcakes

I have mentioned before (about a hundred times) that I have a hankering for meringues, egg whites and angel food.  Angel Food would be the only birthday cake for me, and I talk about it often, like here, and here. Angel Food is unlike many other cakes out there, because there isn't much you can do to change the way it's done.  As you can see from my posts, I want it done just like my Mom made it, with Seven Minute Icing.

Cute paper liners...

So, on Mother's Day, I decided I was going to make it into cupcakes, and what a great idea that was!  Portion control!  You can make your angel food cake any way you like, scratch, box, whatever, I do not judge.  I used to sell Duncan Hines cake mixes, and although I would like to never use a box mix for a layer cake, I am not above a box for angel food.  I hate wasting anything, and what the heck would I do with 12+ egg yolks?  This time I used the Target brand angel food cake mix, and dang, it was delicious!  Yes, I am a food blogger, but hey, sometimes I like the easy way out, especially after a week of hours of cookie decorating!

They baked perfectly!

Nice craggy angel food tops!

I used some adorable cupcake liners I won from Sweetopia eons ago, but because of their delicate color, I was waiting for white cake to put in them.  They are head and shoulders above regular cupcake liners.  Heavy and firm, made of Swedish grease proof paper, I would like more!  You can find them at Vestilhouse.us.com mine are called Elisabeth.  A box of angel food mix will make 24 cupcakes (exactly the number of liners in the Vestil box) with plenty of bowl licking goodness left.  Here is the icing recipe I usually use, straight out of the Joy of Cooking.  And yes, many would call it "meringue" icing, but I am old school, and seven minute it will always be!  The recipe says you can do it with a rotary beater...wouldn't that be fun?!

Joy of Cooking Seven Minute Icing

2 unbeaten egg whites (free of any trace of yolk)
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 Tablespoons cold water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients except vanilla in a double boiler over rapidly boiling water.  Beat with rotary beater or whisk for 7 minutes.  I use a hand mixer, I hate to wear myself out in the kitchen!  Remove from heat and add vanilla and beat until it is the consistency for spreading.  You can color it here, or add nuts etc.

It's perfect every time.

BUT, I also have done this recipe from Epicurious.  It uses less sugar and another egg white and more vanilla, so I went with this one.

Epicurious Seven Minute Frosting

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
3 egg whites
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients except vanilla in double boiler over barely simmering water.  Starting low, beat, increasing to high, until stiff peaks form, for about 5 minutes.  Whoa!  Hang on here, this is 7-minute frosting not 5!  Just get it to peaks, regardless of the time!  Remove from heat and continue beating until it is light and billowy (they suggest 2 minutes so the math works out), add vanilla.

Perfect, delicate cupcakes!