Help!! SOS!! M'aidez!! (Stinky keep out!)

[Sparkly]

I'm trying to make Stinky a birthday cake -- angel food -- and I'm not getting any peaks from the egg whites!! I already added the sugar to them. I guess I didn't beat them enough before that step, and now they're just syrupy, but won't fluff.

Should I change the recipe by adding some egg yolks and calling it "sponge cake?"

Or just finish the recipe with the flat egg whites? :cry:

I can't even pass it off as intentional because I had to ask him where the angel cake pan was!

(It will get strawberries and whipped cream later, so all is not lost. Just a whole lotta eggs!)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. No joke -

we're less than 12 hours away from thunderstorms and lots of rain - and cooling off - and that kind of barometric pressure nonsense will screw with your egg whites.

Same reason you cannot make mayonnaise, even in a food processor, if a thunderstorm is threatening.

That could be it.

[Sparkly]

3. Wow! Thanks!

I didn't think I was doing anything wrong!

How about whipped cream?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. That should work

It's only eggs where I've encountered that problem.

Try the whipped cream, and tell that sweet guy of yours his paisan said "Happy Birthday"!

[Sparkly]

6. Thanks!

I just followed the rest of the recipe.

He came up while I was writing this and saw the thread, too. :eyes:

[elleng]

10. Ditto. Happy Birthday!

.

[elleng]

11. Going back up to 80 Friday!

.

[Vinca]

2. I've been reading about cream of tartar today (see muffin post).

Apparently if you put 1/4 tsp. of it in for every 2 egg whites, it helps it whip them to peaks. I don't know if it will work once you're as far along as you are, but it might be worth a try.

[Sparkly]

4. Yeah, the recipe called for that.

Also lemon juice (?!) which I kinda wish I hadn't added, because store-bought and mix ones have a hint of sourness I dislike -- but I did it anyway.

[Duer 157099]

7. He hides the copper from you? Outrageous!

That's just like him, isn't it?

:rofl:

Sorry I have no good advice, it's just that he's so well known for his copper ... what is it, an addiction? Fondness?

Tell him to give you the key to the closet where he keeps all his preciousness.

[grasswire]

8. were your egg whites room temperature?

That could make a difference. They should be, for max volume.

Other things that might be problems:

Getting any bit of yolk into the whites will make them not whip up.

Beaters and bowl must be absolutely oil free.

[cbayer]

9. Make Bisquick shortcakes and slather them with the strawberries and whipped cream!

Yummy, yummy!

(I have never had much success with angel food).

:hi:

[Warpy]

12. First, the sugar won't hurt the mixture

A pinch of salt helps them "snow," start to whip.

You do need to start with room temperature eggs in a completely clean bowl. They won't whip in the presence of any oil, at all. Even a minute speck of yolk will bring the process to a screeching halt.

You can also try a little cream of tartar. Sometimes acid will help the process along.

[hippywife]

13. Okay...

the question everyone has neglected so far to ask...when is Stinky's b-day, anyway?

[supernova]

14. Yeah, cream of tartar

for stiff peaks. A metal or glass bowl, and beaters all squeaky clean.

Other than that. i echo what they said about biscuits or scones and whipped cream. :9

[Sparkly]

15. Belated update!

I'm told it is bad form in C&B not to reply after posting...

It came out okay afterall. Maybe a liiiittle more dense than otherwise, but still light and yummy.

I just beat the egg whites like mad!

I know all the egg white tricks -- not a hint of fat, cream of tartar, room temperature, etc. -- and the one thing this recipe called for that went against that was cold egg whites... (Joy of Cooking.) I read back to the "about angel cakes" explanation, and evidently this was to prevent the egg whites from becoming OVERbeaten -- in other words, they were trying to foolproof against beating them too much, assuming people who use their cookbooks are fools... No comment!

Anyway, with cream and strawberries, it was good. Thanks for all the tips! :hi: