Erin Mann is baking a new cake every week for a year from the "All Cakes Considered" cookbook and shares her adventures here on AnnArbor.com. Read past columns here.

Added cocoa makes this an angel food cake for chocolate lovers.

Erin Mann | Contributor

Last week’s angel food cake came up short, literally. The cake should be tall, climbing up the sides of the pan as the air in the batter expands during baking. I suspected I deflated the egg whites somewhat when I folded the dry ingredients in the batter.

The chocolate angel food cake I baked this week is a tasty variation of the classic angel food and another opportunity to practice my folding technique. I swapped my spatula for a wire balloon whisk, which, according to pastry chef Sherry Yard, is the best tool for the job.

In her book “Secrets of Baking,” Sherry explains her folding method:

...think of the bowl as a clock. Start the whisk at twelve o’clock. Drag the wire whisk through the foam to six o’ clock. Lift the whisk out of the bowl and turn the bowl counterclockwise one quarter turn. Repeat the pattern by starting back at twelve o’ clock and dragging it to six. Continue to repeat the pattern, twelve to six, quarter turn, twelve to six, quarter turn, until all the ingredients are mixed.

I followed Sherry's method to a tee. I incorporated the ingredients much more quickly with a wire whisk than with a rubber spatula. The baked chocolate angel food cake was much higher in the pan than last week's classic angel food cake.

Generally, I do not publish the recipes with my articles. Long story short, I have permission from the publisher to include three recipes from "All Cakes Considered." I was unable to find the recipe on the web and liked it so much I wanted to share it with you.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and center a rack. You’ll need a 10-inch straight-sided tube pan. (I like the two-part pans because they make unmolding a cinch.) There's no need to spray or grease the pan because you want the cake to cling to the sides while baking. Line the bottom of the pan with a parchment circle. For cooling, round up a glass beer, wine or salad dressing bottle with a neck that will fit inside the opening in the tube of your pan. Last week I used a beer bottle, but to avoid that delicate balancing act again I tried a small liquor bottle instead — it worked like a charm.

¾ cup sifted cake flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
1 ¼ cups eggs whites (about 10-12 large eggs)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Dry whisk the cocoa and flour together. (I like to sift the two together; it helps combine them evenly and gets the lumps out of the cocoa, too.)

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and salt together on medium-high until the egg whites are foamy. Add the cream of tartar, increase the mixer speed to high, and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

3. Fold in the sugar, ¼ cup at a time, until all the sugar is fully incorporated.

4. Fold in the vanilla extract.

5. Sprinkle ¼ cup of the flour and cocoa mixture over the egg whites and fold until incorporated. Repeat three more times until all of the dry mixture is fully incorporated.

6. Pour the batter into the ungreased tube pan. Use a spatula to to release any big air bubbles and to smooth over the top of the batter.

7. Center on the oven rack and bake 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake tests done.

8. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto the glass bottle to finish cooling.

9. Turn the pan right side up and insert a rubber spatula or dull butter knife between the sides of the pan and the sides of the cake. Gently push the cake away from the sides of the pan and the center tube. Invert the pan onto a plate or cake rack. The cake should slide out of the pan. If not, try loosening the cake again by pushing against the sides of the cake with a spatula or knife, then unmold.

Slice in the cake in chunks rather than thin slices using a serrated bread knife. Serve with your favorite toppings. The cocoa flavor in this cake tastes like a delicious cup of hot chocolate on a snowy winter day. I prefer to top it with homemade peppermint vanilla whipped cream, but it would also be good drizzled with a marshmallow sauce. Enjoy!

Erin Mann is ruining diets one cake at a time with her weekly kitchen adventures. Email this baking bachelorette at SheGotTheBeat@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter. Facebook users can also keep up-to-date with A CAKE A WEEK by joining the group.