Blogging | Five Wooden Spoons

S’mores is one of my favorite flavor profiles. What’s not to love? Melty chocolate, gooey marshmallow, crunchy graham cracker. Mmm. You may remember the s’mores bars I made last fall… the thought of them still makes my mouth water! My friend, Susan, loves s’mores too — or she must anyway since she wrote an entire cookbook about them!

I’ve known Susan practically since I first started blogging. Our sons are only about 2 months apart and we’ve been following each others blogs and exchanging Christmas cards for years. This year, I attended BlogHer’13 and was thrilled to finally meet Susan in person — and attend her s’mores themed cookbook party at the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago.

Susan and I met for dinner before her party and it was nice to be able to chat in person. We both felt like we already knew each other (oh, the magic of blogging and email!) but it was nice to sit across the table from each other and have a real conversation as well.

We capped the evening off with s’mores martinis, s’mores dip (from the cookbook – delicious), and traditional s’mores. It was a s’mores lovers Mecca!

Susan has graciously offered to giveaway three copies of “The S’mores Cookbook” to three Five Wooden Spoons readers! Leave a comment letting me know about the last time you enjoyed a melty, gooey s’more! Follow the instructions in the rafflecopter below to earn more entries! Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

In honor of my 5th blogoversary, I decided this week’s recipe should be celebratory, and what better way to celebrate then with cake. I chose Angel Food because it is the lightest cake I could think of and we’re trying to eat better here at Chez Sticky Feet.

My laptop decided to die over the weekend and my long-winded ramble reflecting my 5 years of blogging died with it. Suffice it t to say, I’m mourning my beloved computer, but still can’t believe that I’ve been blogging for 5 years. In many ways it feels like I just typed my first post yesterday.

I took this cake to a friend’s house on Friday evening for dinner. She and I enjoyed it, Anna ate a few bites, and Clara threw her piece across the table (always nice when you’re dining at someone else’s house!), Bo was too busy playing to try a piece. It’s a delicious cake and kudos to my friend, Jenny, for many of the helpful hints that are provided in this recipe.

Angel Food Cake with Berry Compote

1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 ½ cups egg whites (12)
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon salt

Separate eggs – put egg whites in metal bowl and allow to warm for at least ½ an hour.

Move oven rack to lowest position, heat oven to 375.

Mix powdered sugar and flour, set aside. Beat egg whites and cream of tarter in large metal bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Beat in granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, on high speed, adding vanilla, almond extract and salt with the last addition of sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy meringue forms. Do not underbeat.

Sprinkle sugar-flour mixture, ¼ cup at a time over meringue, folding in just until sugar-flour mixture disappears. Push batter into ungreased angel food cake pan. Cut gently through batter with metal knife or spatula to remove bubbles.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes until cracks feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pan upside down onto heatproof funnel or bottle. Let hang about 2 hours until cake is completely cool. Loosen side of cake with knife to remove from pan.

For the berry compote, combine one 16 oz. bag of frozen mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries) with 1/2 cup sugar. Bring to a boil until thickened. Spoon over cake to serve.

Each Monday, I’ll showcase a family and kid-friendly recipe to share with your family. Please let me know if you try one of my recipes! Enjoy!