Angel Food Cake & Berry Sauce

  Airy and spongy this cake is heaven topped with a generous serving of cooked down berries and whipped cream; its truly angelic in taste and appearance. I like to pull the cake a part and serve it in uneven chunks instead of symmetrical slices. My mom has fresh berry sauce in her fridge all year round. Its deep and rich in color, compliments angel cake perfectly, and we always end up eating it with our turkey and stuffing- or mixing it into yogurt during the week. Make a large container of this and you'll be spooning it over everything you can this thanksgiving.

Cake Ingredients
9 large egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup cake flour 
1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. place oven rack in the lowest position. set a 10 inch tube pan on the side. in a large bowl place egg white. in a separate bowl sift 1/2 cup sugar and flour together. set aside. 
2. stir cream of tartar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt into the egg whites. beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. gradually add the remaining sugar, a couple tablespoons at a time while beating egg whites on a high speed until stiff peaks form. gradually fold in the bowl of sifted flour and sugar about 1/2 cup at a time. gently spoon batter into ungreased tube pan. bake for 37 minutes or until lightly browned and appears to be dry. immediately invert pan. cool for 1 hour. run a knife around the center and sides of tube. Place cake on a plate and serve with berry sauce.

Yields: 12 servings of cake 

Berry Sauce 
2 lbs mixed berries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 large orange, juiced
1 cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons cold water

Directions 
In a large sauce pan bring mixed berries, sugar, and balsamic vinegar to a boil. stir berries until sugar has liquefied. bring flame to medium heat allowing berries to lightly simmer for 15 minutes. stir every five minutes. add juice of large orange and stir. drop one large cinnamon stick into sauce, stir and remove after 5 minutes. In a cup whisk cornstarch and cold water. stir cornstarch liquid into sauce. let sauce cook for 10 more minutes uncovered. Let sauce cool- about 1 hour, and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week.

yields: 5 cups