Trust us when we say this dessert is the stuff of dreams. The recipe yields a cake light and pillowy enough to don the name "angel food," but robust enough to hold a heap of fresh berries, strawberry sauce, or whipped cream piled as high as the heavens. It just takes one divine slice to understand how this cake got its name.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a large bowl, use a hand or stand mixer to beat egg whites with cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy.
2. Increase mixer speed to medium. Gradually add granulated sugar in four batches, beating constantly until sugar is dissolved and meringue is glossy and stands in soft peaks. If meringue isn't stiffening up quickly enough, increase speed to medium-high or high for the third and fourth additions of sugar.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add in vanilla extract just until evenly blended into meringue.
4. In a large bowl, sift together flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Sprinkle a third of the flour mixture over the meringue's surface. With a rubber spatula, gently fold flour mixture into the meringue just until flour is no longer visible.
5. Repeat, folding in remaining flour mixture in two additional batches. Your goal is to fully mix in the flour with no pockets of dry ingredients in your batter, but to keep as much air in the batter as possible to produce a light and fluffy cake.
6. Pour batter into ungreased 10" x 4" tube pan. Using a dinner knife, gently cut through the batter to help it spread and settle evenly into the pan.
7. Bake cake for 25-35 minutes, until top springs back when touched lightly with a finger (if the top gets too dark, gently tent the pan with foil to prevent further browning).
8. Remove cake from the oven when ready, and invert the cake while it's still in the pan on a funnel or bottle neck. Let cool completely while upside-down on bottle, about 90 minutes.
9. Once cool, flip cake upright and use a narrow spatula or knife to loosen cake from the pan. Turn the pan back over and gently shake cake onto serving plate.
10. Top with fresh fruit, strawberry sauce, whipped cream, or all of the above and enjoy!