Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes with low fat custard and raspberry coulis

My goal with this dessert was to make it as guilt-free as possible. I found some great recipes online and constructed this dessert that is pretty impressive and has very little fat. It tasted great! If you want to cut out all the sugar, you can replace the sugar in these recipes with Splenda. However I would look for a recipe for angel food cake that is made specifically with Splenda.



Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes (makes 25-30 cupcakes)

• 12 large egg whites
  
• 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  
• 1/2 cup chocalate shavings
  

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat egg whites in a large bowl for a few minutes before adding the cream of tartar (a standing mixer helps, if you don't have one prepare for a great arm workout). Beat until egg whites stand in stiff peaks. Combine the sugar and salt (if using granulated sugar, instead of superfine bar sugar, sift it twice). Slowly add the sugar to the beaten egg whites and also add the vanilla. Continue beating until peaks are not only stiff but shiny. Sift the flour and the cocoa powder together and fold into the mixture (try to deflate the egg whites as little as possible). quickly fold in the chocolate shavings until evenly dispersed.

Spoon into a paper-lined cupcake tin. Fill the cupcake tins 2/3 full. Using a spoon make sure the batter is pushed all the way to the sides and that there are no air pockets.

Put in oven on a middle or lower rack (so it doesn't brown too quickly) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Place on the counter to cool.

adapted from from this recipe
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Basic Low-Fat Custard (Makes 1-1/2 cups):

• 1-1/2 cups 1 percent low-fat milk
  
• 3 tablespoons sugar
  
• 1 large egg
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 2 inch piece of whole vanilla bean
  

Mix together sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Add egg and whisk to combine; then gradually whisk in milk. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until custard thickens to the consistency of thick cream, about 25 minutes.

Strain if custard has lumps. Transfer to a large bowl, and add vanilla. Cover surface of custard with plastic wrap to prevent a skim from forming, and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 2 hours.

note: if you use a vanilla bean, scrape vanilla into the milk mixture, add the bean and leave in the mixture until it's thickened, remove the bean, then cool.

Adapted from Low-fat Recipes by: The Healthy Oven Baking Book, by Sarah Phillips, Doubleday, 1999
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Raspberry Coulis

• 2 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
  
• 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
  

Puree raspberries with sugar and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids.

Coulis keeps 3 days, covered and chilled.

adapted from the Food Network
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Plating

I dusted the plates with cocoa, then drizzled a bit of coulis. A dollop of custard to keep the cupcake in place and a dollop on top. Drizzle more coulis and top with sugared raspberries. But this is where you get to be creative, so have fun.