Angel Food Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

This cake is a family favorite.  Growing up my Mom would let us pick out our birthday cakes.  The options were unlimited, we could choose a cake from a bakery, or my Mom would make us whatever our hearts desired.  Usually we asked for this cake.  The recipe is an old recipe that my Mom has.  The cake and frosting are light and airy.  It slides right down even after a big meal.  My Mom said that once she made the cake for a dinner party with another couple, and that the four of them ended up eating the entire thing.

The cake, it has frosting in the middle!

Recently, my brother Jeff requested this cake for his birthday.  His birthday is right around Memorial Day, so my mom usually makes a cake Memorial Day weekend and we have a birthday dinner.  This is Jeff's favorite cake, and Jeff loves sweets.  I made the mistake of sitting next to him at dinner that night - something I never do anymore.  He distracted me by saying he saw a wild turkey in our yard and then stole my cake off my plate.  You have to guard your food around Jeff.  Lesson learned.  I always warn the people who sit next to him at family functions.

As you can tell, this cake is a Graham family tradition.  This past week my friend Caroline celebrated her birthday and I thought that this was the perfect time to introduce my Chicago family to this cake.  Our birthday gathering was extra special because Caroline's parents, Mal and Bobby were in from Boston and joined us for dinner.  They are two of the nicest people in the world and it is always such a treat to see them.  I also want to give a shout out to my friend Zinni who hosted dinner that night.  He had a great idea - we built our own kababs.  Zinni prepped chicken, steak, shrimp, potatoes, mushrooms, peppers and lots other great kabab add ons, and we went through the line building our kababs and then he threw them on the grill.  It worked out really well.  Ok back to the cake - here is a photo!

Three of the best ladies I know: Hockema, Caroline, Dre, and Me

This cake is very easy to make!  You should definitely try it!

You will need:
1 Angel Food Cake
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 cups Whipping Cream
1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
3/4 cup Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon Salt
optional: 1/3 cup toasted Almonds

Step 1:
You can either make the angel food cake from a mix (you just add water), or purchase pre-made from a grocery store.  A few notes on making angel food cake: you need to let it cool completely in the pan and you need to let it cool upside-down or on its side.  My mother also told me not to use a silicone pan because the cake can't cool property in a silicone pan.

Step 2:
Make the frosting.  Combine the whipping cream, sugar, cocoa, salt, and vanilla.  Beat with a mixer until stiff.

Step 3:
Once the cake is completely cooled, remove it from the pan.  Then using a serrated knife, cut the top off of the cake, starting from about 1 inch down from the top of the cake.  See the photo below and this is make much more sense.  Then use the knife to cut out some of the inside of the cake.

Step 4:
Fill the scooped out section of the cake with frosting.

Step 5:
Place the top back on the cake.

Step 6:
Frost the cake!  Top with toasted almonds with you like.  Keep the cake chilled until you are ready to serve it.