Classic Angel Food Cake

Ingredients:

* 1 3/4 cups egg whites, room temperature (about 12 to 14 large eggs)
* 1 1/4 cups cake flour, sift before using
* 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Preparation:
Sift flour with 3/4 cups sugar 4 times; set aside. With a hand-held electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed. Gradually beat in remaining 1 cup sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time. Beat well after each addition; continue to beat until stiff peaks form when beaters are raised out of mixture.

With a rubber spatula or whisk, gently fold vanilla and almond extracts into the beaten egg whites. Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites; fold in gently with spatula or whisk, about 15 strokes. Repeat until all of the flour mixture and continue with about 10 more strokes to blend flour in well.

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Gently spoon batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Cut through batter in pan with a narrow spatula or knife. With rubber spatula, spread batter to smooth the top and make sure batter is spread to touch the sides of the pan.

Bake on a lower oven rack for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched with fingertip. Invert pan to cool completely, about 2 hours. Use a narrow spatula or flat butter knife to gently loosen cake from sides and center tube of pan. Gently lift cake out of pan with the tube and loosen bottom. Remove from tube section and frost cake with fluffy white frosting.