Pineapple Angel Food Cake

So yet again I have leftovers of something that's going to go bad soon if it doesn't get used up. This time it was almost a full carton of egg whites. What do do?? Make my husbands favorite cake! I found this can of crushed pineapple in the back of the cupboard today too and I thought what could be more summery then a light and fluffy, zesty pineapple angel food cake. My husband was very pleased to say the least as he went back for a second slice. Another bonus to this cake? It's FAT FREE! So don't feel bad about going back for that second or third slice....

A note about making anything with whipped egg white. Make sure that your bowls and mixers are totally grease free and that no yolks get into your egg whites at all! Egg whites don't like fat so clean everything and be careful if you are using eggs that no yolks fall into the whites and your meringue will be perfect.

What you need
1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 10-12 large eggs) at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup sifted cake flour (yes you can use all purpose but it won't give you as fluffy a texture)
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
14 oz can of crushed pineapple

PREHEAT your oven to 325 degrees F.
IN a small bowl whisk 3/4 cups of sugar and the cake flour.
BEAT eggs until light and fluffy then add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until mixed well then begin adding remaining sugar a couple tablespoons at a time until you get soft peaks. Add vanilla and almond extract. (If your egg whites don't get soft peaks add more sugar a little at a time until you do)
SIFT the flour/sugar mixture over egg whites in 6 additions, gently folding in each addition.
STRAIN the juice out of pineapple. Try to get as much out as you can and gently fold into egg white mixture.
POUR batter into an ungreased tube pan. Smooth top and place in the bottom rack of a preheated oven. 
BAKE for about 50 minutes or when top springs back when touched. Let cool upside down on a few cans or a wine bottle for at least 2 hours or until completely cool.

When your cake is almost cool you can make the pineapple glaze. I didn't really measure these ingredients so I apologize if they are not perfect but basically you want to make it thin enough that is coats the cake easily and can drip down the sides but not too thin or it will just fall off into a big puddle or soak in too much. But it's not rocket science so I'm sure you'll be fine.

Pineapple Glaze
MELT 2 Tbsp of butter in the microwave and whisk in 1 cup of icing sugar, 1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice, 3 drops of yellow food colouring (because it's fun) and 1/4 tsp of vanilla. I used the seeds of 1/4 of a vanilla bean because I ran out of vanilla extract today and it was delicious! So you can do that if you have vanilla beans. If the icing needs to be thinner add more juice or add more icing sugar if it needs to be thicker.
POUR icing over cake until it runs down the sides.