Angel Food Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/176C convection.
2. Make sure to clean your tube pan, metal bowl and beater for the stand mixer well. I wipe it with a little vinegar after cleaning to make sure there is no greasy residue.
3. Place the egg whites in the bowl of the stand mixer with the lemon juice (or cream of tarter) and turn the mixer up to medium-high speed.
   12 large egg whites room temperature, 1 Tbsp lemon juice OR 1 tsp cream of tarter
4. Beat for a minute or so and when the egg whites look frothy, stream the sugar into the bowl with the mixer going. It should take about a minute to get all the sugar in slowly.
   350 grams granulated or superfine sugar
5. Continue beating for a few minutes, just until the meringue reaches a soft peak (see image in blog post). Add the vanilla and mix again, just until it's combined.
   2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
6. Sift in the cake flour and salt, turn the mixer up to medium-low speed, just until the flour is mostly combined, about 30-60 seconds. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the edge of the bowl and fold the batter a couple more times until it's well combined.
   150 grams cake flour spooned and leveled, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
7. Spread the cake into the UN-GREASED tube pan. Make sure to spread the batter evenly with an offset spatula or spoon because the lack of fat will prevent it from spreading and if left uneven, it will bake uneven.
8. Bake for about 35 minutes. Press gently on the tallest part and and there should be a slight bounce/resistance and no wet batter.
9. Remove from the oven and flip over onto a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely to room temperature, a few hours.
10. Serve with powdered sugar, chantilly cream, fresh fruit, etc.