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1
Be certain that your mixing bowl, whisk or beater, and 10-inch tube pan 4 inches deep (preferably with separate rim and bottom sections) are completely clean.
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2
Scrub them with detergent, then rinse and dry.
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3
Set aside.
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4
(There must be no trace of grease on the beating equipment, which would prevent the egg whites from expanding to their maximum.
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5
And grease on the pan would inhibit the rising of the cake.)
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6
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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7
Set out egg whites in beating or mixing bowl and let them come to room temperature, preferably at least 70 degrees.
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8
Measure all other ingredients.
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9
Sift flour and sugar separately onto sheets of waxed paper.
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10
Add salt and about 1/3 cup sugar to flour.
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11
Sift the salt, flour and sugar mixture 3 or 4 times; you might prefer to set out 2 large sheets of waxed paper, sifting the ingredients back and forth between them.
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12
Hold the sifter or strainer high as you sift, to aerate dry ingredients.
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13
Begin to beat egg whites, slowly at first, using a rotary beater or electric mixer.
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14
(Be careful not to overbeat; whites should form peaks when beater is lifted and should end up moist and glossy, not dry.)
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15
When whites begin to get foamy, add cream of tartar, lemon juice, water and flavoring extracts.
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16
Begin to beat at high speed and continue beating, without stopping, just until whites form stiff peaks, but are still moist.
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17
Add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat in at moderately low speed until incorporated.
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18
Repeat additions, beating each in completely, until the rest of the sugar has been incorporated.
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19
Stop beating and sift about a quarter of the flour mixture over egg whites and fold it in with light strokes of a spatula.
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20
Repeat with second, third and fourth additions.
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21
Do not overfold.
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22
Lightly pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
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23
Run a thin metal spatula twice through the batter, once near the tube and once near the rim, to eliminate air pockets, and smooth the top.
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24
Bake 45 minutes, or until cake has shrunk very slightly from sides of pan and springs back when top is pressed lightly.
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25
If you use a cake tester, it should emerge clean.
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26
Remove cake from oven and invert it, still in pan.
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27
(Some pans have supporting legs; if yours doesn't, support the central tube of the pan on a narrow-neck bottle.)
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28
Let cake ''hang'' 1 1/2 hours, or until thoroughly cool.
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29
Run a sharp knife around sides of pan and unmold cake.
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30
To serve, the traditional method is to ''tear'' the cake into wedges with two forks held back to back, or to divide it with a comblike cake divider.
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31
A finely serrated knife, used in a light sawing motion, will cut the cake neatly, despite the time-honored advice about never using a knife.
