Unshortened cakes

Cakes that contain no fat but are made with a large amount of whole eggs or egg whites, such as angel food and sponge, are called unshortened. In these cakes, most of the cellular structure comes from egg protein and from the air beaten into them. When whipping the eggs, sugar is added to stabilize the beaten egg foam. Often some of the sugar is combined with the flour before the dry ingredients are folded into the airy eggs to separate the flour’s starch particles and keep them from clumping when folded into the egg foam. Sugar also raises the temperature at which egg proteins set, delaying coagulation just long enough to allow the optimum amount of air to be captured into the mix. This process creates a cake that is exceedingly light and tender, with superb volume.