Triple layer tropical angel food cake

Ingredients

• Angel Food Cake
• 1 cup minus 2 Tablespoons of regular flour
• 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 c. egg whites ** please see the note below
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1c. granulated white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 10 drops of yellow food coloring
• Fresh blueberries, optional
• Tropical Filling
• 8 oz. low fat whipped topping (such as Cool-Whip) or make your own :)
• 20 oz. crushed pineapple, drained, set aside the juice
• 8 oz. Neufechaled cheese (lowfat cream cheese), room temperature
• 1/2 c. coconut, optional
• 2 T. pineapple juice

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Preparation

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour and powdered sugar and set aside. Beat egg whites and cream of tarter in a large mixer bowl. Beat on medium speed until foamy. Increase beating to high speed and add 2 Tablespoons at a time of the granulated sugar, beat until stiff and glossy (approx 8-10 minutes with KitchenAide). When adding the last of the sugar, also add the salt and vanilla. Do not underbeat.
  
  **Eggs - usually 8-12, varying on sizes - also place the whites into a bowl and set aside for approx 15-20 min so they warm up a bit
  
  Sprinkle in the flour-sugar mixture 1/4 cup at a time, over the meringue and folding in only until the flour-sugar mixture disappears. Place the batter gently into an ungreased tube pan. Gently cut through the batter with a butter knife to take out air holes. Place in oven and bake approx. 30-35 minutes until crack feels dry and top springs back when touched lightly. Invert pan upside down onto a glass bottle. Let hang until cake is cold. Make the filling while the cake is cooling (recipe is at the bottom of this page). Once the cake is cool, gently separate the cake from the pan using butter knife. Place the cake upside down on a serving plate. Using a serrated knife horizontally cut (just like sawing wood) across the cake to make 3 layers. You can use toothpicks as a guide around the cake to help you cut straight. Spoon one-third of the tropical filling and spread it evenly across the cake layer. Repeat for all 3 layers. Decorate the top layer with blueberries if desired. Using a serrated knife, slice and serve.
  
  
  Tropical Filling directions:
  
  Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add pineapple juice and mix until combined. Slowly stir in the pineapple and coconut, then the cool-whip. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in fridge while you cut the cool cake.
  
  
  Options for the Cake:
  
  - Replace 1 t. of vanilla with pineapple juice
  - Omit coconut or reduce the amount used
  - Omit cutting of the cake, leave it whole and serve a scoop of the tropical filling with each slice
  - Omit food color or select a different color (I did pink for my daughter's first birthday)
  
  
  Options for Tropical Filling:
  
  - Add 1 c. fresh other berries, sliced thin if needed
  - Reduce coconut to 1/4 c. and toast the coconut before adding (toasting the coconut adds even more taste)
  - Use whipped cream in place of Cool-Whip
  - Try to add a small amount of finely chopped and toasted nuts, omit berries
  
  Healthy and yummy!