Angel Food Cake

angel food cake, one of the sweetest and lightest of all cakes, gets its name from its whiteness and cloud-like texture. According to two authoritative sources, the Confectioners’ Journal of April 1883 and Jessup Whitehead’s The American Pastry Cook (1894), angel food cake was created by a St. Louis baker. They do not agree, however, on who this baker was.

Confectioners’ Journal identifies him as Mr. George S. Beers, a frequent contributor to the Journal. The American Pastry Cook simply credits S. Sides. Both sources report that the recipe was for sale. A few months after the April Confectioners’ Journal article, the Journal published an angel food cake recipe without attributing it to anyone.