Almond Angel Food Cake with Crème Anglaise and Macerated Strawberries

Preheat oven to 32

To prepare strawberries, combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Cover and chill 3 hours.

To prepare cake, place almonds and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Sift together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt into a bowl.

Combine the almond mixture with flour mixture, and set aside. Beat egg whites in a large bowl at high speed of a mixer until foamy.

Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form.

Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; fold in. Fold in almond extract. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, and spread evenly.

Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.

While the cake is baking, prepare the crme anglaise.

Combine 2/3 cup sugar and yolks in a large saucepan, stirring with a whisk until blended. Gradually add milk to the pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook over medium heat until mixture coats the back of a spoon (about 8 minutes), stirring constantly. Immediately pour mixture into a bowl; stir in vanilla. Cover and chill (the mixture will thicken as it cools).

Invert cake pan, and cool for 40 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert cake onto plate.

Serve with strawberries and crme anglaise.