Angel Food Cake with Fall Fruit Compote

Ingredients

• 1 cup cake flour 
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 
• 0.8 cup crème fraîche 
• 0.5 cup cranberries dried
• 4 ounces figs dried halved
• 14 ounce fruit mixed dried
• 12 large egg whites 
• 0.3 teaspoon salt 
• 0.3 cup sugar 
• 1.5 cups sugar divided
• 1  vanilla pod split
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
• 3 cups water 

Equipment

• frying pan
• sauce pan
• oven
• knife
• blender
• spatula
• measuring cup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 32
2. To prepare cake, lightly spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife.
3. Sift together flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy.
4. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form.
5. Add 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla. Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, 3 tablespoons at a time; fold in.
6. Spoon batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife.
7. Bake at 325 for 50 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan, and cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert the cake onto plate.
8. Cut cake into 12 slices.
9. To prepare compote, combine water, 1/4 cup sugar, and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
10. Add dried fruits; cover and simmer 25 minutes or until fruit is tender, stirring once.
11. Remove from heat.
12. Remove vanilla bean.
13. Let bean stand 5 minutes. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean; stir seeds into the fruit mixture. Discard bean. Cool to room temperature. Spoon compote over cake slices, and top with crme frache.