Angel Food Cake
Using only 6 ingredients, this perfect angel food cake bakes up tall, light, and airy. For best results, read the recipe in full before beginning and have all your ingredients ready to go. Enjoy!
Prep: 25min
Total: 4h
Yield: 10
Ingredients:
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar*
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (133g) cake flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 large egg whites, at room temperature*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- optional: confectioners’ sugar for dusting, whipped cream, and berries
Instruction:
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position and preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
- In a food processor or blender, pulse the sugar until fine and powdery. Remove 1 cup and set aside to use in step 3; keep the rest inside the food processor. Add the cake flour and salt to the food processor. Pulse 5-10 times until sugar/flour/salt mixture is aerated and light.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium-low until foamy, about 1 minute. Switch to medium-high and slowly add the 1 cup of sugar you set aside. Whip until soft peaks form, about 5-6 minutes. See photo and video above for a visual. Add the vanilla extract, then beat just until incorporated.
- In 3 additions, slowly sift the flour mixture into the egg white mixture using a fine mesh strainer, gently folding with a rubber spatula after each addition. To avoid deflating or a dense cake, don’t add the flour mixture all at once. Sift and very slowly fold in several additions. This is important! Pour and spread batter into an ungreased 9 or 10 inch tube pan. Shimmy the pan on the counter to smooth down the surface.
- Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. The cake will rise up very tall while baking. Remove from the oven, then cool the cake completely upside-down set on a wire rack, about 3 hours. (Upside-down so the bottom of the tube pan is right-side up, see photo and video above.) Once cooled, run a thin knife around the edges and gently tap the pan on the counter until the cake releases.
- If desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar. Slice the cake with a sharp serrated knife. Regular knives can easily squish the cake. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Angel Food Cake Recipe
FAQ
What are the secrets of good angel food cake?
You want the batter to cling to the side while it is rising. A greased pan will not allow the batter to rise. Use a spatula to smooth the surface of the cake. Since Angel Food Cakes do not have butter or oil, you need to even off the top yourself before baking.
Is angel food cake healthier than regular cake?
Angel food cake is a type of sponge cake that is made with egg whites and no cholesterol. Because it has no fat or cholesterol, it’s much lower in calories than regular cake. In addition, the egg whites provide a great source of lean protein, making angel food cake a healthier option than regular cake.
Can you bake angel food cake in a cake pan?
It’s essential to use a pan without a non-stick coating here—as when making any angel food cake—since the batter clings to the sides of the pan as it rises. A non-stick surface would prevent the cake from reaching its optimal lofty, fluffy ideal. The pan should also have the same diameter as called for in the recipe.
How to fancy up angel food cake?
Toppings to serve with Angel Food Cake
- Fresh berries, like raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries.
- Fruit sauces – blueberry Syrup, cherry, raspberry, blackberry, or strawberry sauce.
- Pineapple topping.
- Homemade whipped cream or Cool Whip.
- Lemon Curd.
- Candied Nuts.
- Powdered sugar.
- Crushed Biscoff cookies.
