Snow Cake-Sunset Cookbook of Favorite Recipes, 1971

I meant to photograph this cake. Really, I did. Thing is, it lasted so long, I kept thinking I had another day to get around to it. I'm not kidding-twelve days is a record for this sort of thing sitting under a dome at room temperature. It never went stale. I was looking for a way to use up a glut of egg whites left from making ice cream, and I found this recipe that sounded a little plain-like an angel food cake with some fat. It turned out more like pound cake. I gathered up my whisk, copper bowl, and Bundt pan and set to work.

The cake doesn't rise much, which makes it a little tough telling if it is close to done or not. Mine took much less time than the recipe indicated, but I had a dark coated Nordicware pan, and ovens vary. If you make this cake, pay attention to it, and set the timer for a good ten minutes less than called for-and keep checking.

I expected to serve it with some sort of custard, or fruit, but the boys were happy enough eating it plain, and though it lasted a good long while (it was just the two of them eating it as I couldn't locate anyone to push half a cake onto as I typically do) they never really got bored with it. That's good enough for me-this one goes into the recipe file under, "Using up egg whites."

You Will Need:

1 cup egg whites (about 8 large) at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 lb (1/2 cup) butter (one stick in US) melted and cooled
Optional powdered sugar (I went for an icing sugar glaze made with water instead)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 2 quart Bundt pan (or any tube-style pan).

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. At high speed, add sugar a bit at a time until you have stiff but not dry peaks (I do 2 tablespoons of sugar at a time which is nuts, I know but it turns out perfect every time. Some things take patience). Beat in salt and vanilla.

Sift the flour, then measure and sift again with the baking powder into the egg whites, folding until well blended. Fold in the melted and cooled butter until evenly blended, and then turn into prepared tin.

Bake 1 hour (but start checking at 45 minutes) until cake bounces back when touched lightly (cake will not rise). The recipe said to remove from pan, but I let it cool in the pan, on a rack for 10 minutes first. Then, I cooled it completely on a baking rack. Do as you see fit. Dust with icing sugar before serving, or glaze as I did with icing sugar/water.  The recipe suggests that fresh egg whites work best for this, but mine were a few days old and it didn't seem to harm it any.

Store cake, covered at room temperature. I can't guarantee you get as long out of it as I did, but this isn't a cake you need to worry about finishing next day. It would be ideal for preparing ahead, or toting to a picnic.