The other day I realized there were a bunch of egg whites in my refrigerator because many of the dishes I cooked for the holidays called for just egg yolks to make for a richer product.

I decided to make an angel food cake from scratch, and settled on a Mock Angel Food Cake because it's got baking powder in it in addition to relying on the whipped egg whites to provide leavening, sort of a belt and suspenders deal. I don't buy cake flour, so replaced some of the all-purpose with cornstarch, and that seemed to work. What really threw me for a loop, though, was the recipe called for boiling water to be stirred into the dry ingredients before they were folded into the beaten-stiff egg whites. I'd heard of hot water chiffon cakes, but I'd never made one before. That's what it really was, a chiffon cake, not an angel food, but that's nit picking.

Anyhow it came out good, doesn't taste all chemical like store-bought angel food or the ones made from a mix, and has a nice texture, although it's on the sturdy side, not rubbery, sturdy. I'm not going to put the recipe here unless you ask for it, you can make these yummies with any sort of angel food cake.

Angel Bites

Bristol cream sherry
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Angel food cake cut into bite-size pieces
Walnuts or pecans, chopped medium fine

Put the nuts in a pie plate. Combine enough sherry with the sifted powdered sugar in a shallow bowl to make a consistency that is liquid and dippable, not like frosting you would spread, like thick cream, let's say. Dip the pieces of cake in it, coating all sides. Immediately roll in the nuts, covering all sides, and set on waxed paper to dry. Store in Tupperware.

This is really good, better than rum balls. You could try making it with Amaretto or something like that, as long as it's boozy tasting. All that sugar just mellows it right out.

You can try to keep track of your hands - use one for the wet side and one for the dry side, so it's less of a mess. You really shouldn't lick your fingers between dippings if you plan to share these with other people. Of course, if you're going to eat the whole recipe by yourself, then do it however you want. If I'd had any of that sherry-sugar mixture left, I'd have eaten it with a spoon.