Yup, you heard me, Kaki: I. Fried. Cake.

Last fall my parents bought an angel food cake.  They explained as we ate some for dessert that they buy one every five years or so to see if they like it… and never do.  Heck, that’s what I’ve done with raw tomatoes so I get the strategy.  But it meant that then we had three-quarters of a cake that no one was that interested in eating.  Naturally, I took it home to experiment.

I searched the internet for “things to do with angel food cake” and found a few things but nothing really blew me away.  I wasn’t going to take the time to make it into a trifle.  French toast style sounded good but for whatever reason I don’t think I tried it.  Finally I just sliced it up and put it in sandwich bags and into the freezer (it was cake, after all, I wasn’t going to throw it out).

So upon waking up yesterday and craving something other than the leftover chili in the fridge, the baggie of frozen angel food cake called to me.  And no sooner could I think, “I don’t really want to make up a custard for French toast,” it hit me, “but I could just toast it in a pan with some butter.”

It worked like a freakin’ charm, Kaki.  Oh my gosh, the outside caramelizes because duh, it’s cake not bread, so as it “toasts” you’re getting crispy, sticky, sugary goodness happening.  And so quick!  I nuked the frozen cake for thirty seconds, heated up a pat of butter in the pan, then let each side fry up for a minute and a half.  In the last thirty seconds I added three spoonfuls of jam, which got all warm in the middle and all caramelized and sticky at the edges.  Scoop it into a bowl and EAT!

Pan-Fried Angel Food Cake

Ingredients:

• 3-4 slices angel food cake (thawed in microwave for 30 seconds if frozen)
• 1 pat of butter (approx. 1/3 tablespoon)
• A few dashes of ground cinnamon (optional)
• A couple spoonfuls jam

Heat a small non-stick pan over medium heat.  Add the butter to the pan.  Once butter is melted, swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan.

Add the slices of cake to the pan.  Add a few dashes of ground cinnamon to the tops of the slices of cake.  Let cook for one-and-a-half minutes.

Using tongs, turn the slices to the other side and cook for one minute.

Add three or so spoonfuls of jam to the pan.  Let cook for thirty seconds.

Scoop into a bowl and devour with some tea.  Yay, weekend breakfasts!

Have a good week, Kaki!

–Caitlin