Rachel Khoo: chocolate angel cake

Many a Gallic treat is based on a hearty dose of butter. I adore flaky croissants and buttery millefeuilles. But sometimes I like to steer the other way, opting for light, airy cakes enriched with tart red fruits. Angel cake is an American classic; a delicate meringue gently merged with minimal flour and zero butter, angelic because of its fluffy texture. It’s the perfect centrepiece for your own tea party on 21 June in aid of Dream Tea, raising money to support terminally ill children. (dreamscometrue.uk.com)

CHOCOLATE ANGEL CAKE

You will need

A 23cm Bundt tin, not greased

For the cake

480g egg whites (approx 12 whites)

150g caster sugar

1 tsp cream of tartar

140g plain flour

140g icing sugar

40g cocoa powder

½ tsp salt

For the filling and topping

100ml whipping cream

200g raspberries and strawberries

Icing sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 160C. In an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until light and frothy, gradually adding the sugar and cream of tartar bit by bit until you create soft peaks.

Sift the flour, icing sugar, cocoa and salt into a separate bowl. Add about one third of the dry ingredients to the egg white mix and fold in thoroughly. Repeat twice more, until the mixture is smooth and all the ingredients have been incorporated. Pour into the tin.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. The mixture will puff up so, once the cake is removed from the oven, use a bread knife to trim the base level. Run a knife around the edges and centre of the tin and turn the cake out on to a cooling rack.

Whisk the cream to soft peaks and, once the cake has cooled, spoon into the centre. Top the cake with the berries and dust with icing sugar.