This angel food cake recipe was made in honor of my best friend because it is her favorite cake, ever! It’s super light, fluffy, yet not-too-sweet. It’s quite simple to make and pairs well with strawberry whipped cream and macerated strawberries.
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What Is Angel Food Cake?
Angel food cake is a type of sponge cake typically made with egg whites, sugar, and flour. In this recipe, I added cream of tartar for extra stability, and salt and vanilla paste for a touch of flavor. There are no leaveners like baking soda or powder. Instead, the cake rises by whipping the egg whites and sugar to create a meringue.
It is crucial to use an ungreased angel food cake pan. When baking, the cake batter climbs the sides of the pan and clings to it. If the pan is greased, the batter cannot cling to the pan, and will eventually collapse… yielding a very dense cake!
Once baked, the cake pan is inverted to cool the cake upside down, which also prevents the cake from deflating. When the cake is fully cooled, it can be removed from the pan. And what you get is a very light, fluffy, cloud-like cake!
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The texture and flavor are on POINT! Eating angel food cake is like eating a lightly sweetened cloud. It’s so light, fluffy, and just so, so good. Plus, it pairs perfectly with strawberry whipped cream, macerated strawberries, lemon curd, and more.
- No need to buy cake flour or superfine sugar like other recipes. This cake uses plain ‘ol all-purpose flour and granulated sugar!
Looking for more delicious desserts? Try my matcha brownies.
Ingredients
To make angel food cake from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- You will need a dozen egg whites, which will be whipped with granulated sugar and cream of tartar to make a meringue. This is what makes the cake rise. You can use the egg yolks to make leche flan!
- You can use vanilla extract or vanilla paste (1:1) in this recipe.
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
How to make Angel Food Cake
Step 1: Whip egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add in cream of tartar. While mixing, gradually add granulated sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Whip until you get glossy, soft peaks, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 2: Sift in flour and salt in three batches, very gently folding after each to keep the batter light and airy. Transfer to ungreased, unlined angel food cake pan.
Step 3: Bake at 325°/162°C for 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when poked and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove pan from oven and let fully cool upside down, about 2-3 hours. This will help prevent the cake from deflating.
Step 4: Once fully cooled, turn pan right side up. Run an offset spatula along the edges and around the center tube to gently loosen the cake from the pan. Remove cake and enjoy! Enjoy with powdered sugar, strawberry whipped cream, macerated strawberries, lemon curd, etc.
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a review & share it with me on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, or Pinterest!
Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
📖 Recipe
Angel Food Cake
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Equipment
- small mixing bowl for the dry ingredients
- Stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment
- angel food cake pan very important so you can cool the cake in the pan upside down! otherwise, the cake will deflate
Ingredients
Angel Food Cake:
- 12 (360 g) medium egg whites
- 2 teaspoons (6 g) cream of tartar
- 1 ½ cup (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (13 g) vanilla paste or extract
- 1 ¼ cup (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) fine sea salt
Optional Toppings:
- powdered sugar
- strawberry whipped cream
- macerated strawberries
- lemon curd
Instructions
Prepare:
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Set aside an ungreased and unlined angel food cake pan. Note: This pan is necessary to use because it has small prongs on the rim. The prongs allow you to invert the pan while the cake cools, which is essential to prevent it from collapsing. Do not grease the pan; the batter needs to cling onto the pan as it bakes to rise properly.
Make angel food cake batter:
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour and ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt. Set dry ingredients aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk 12 medium egg whites on medium speed until frothy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in 2 teaspoons cream of tartar.
- While mixing on medium speed, gradually stream in the 1 ½ cup granulated sugar, about a tablespoon at a time. Once all of the sugar is added, continue mixing on medium-high until the egg whites form glossy, soft peaks, about 5-7 minutes.
- Whisk in 1 tablespoon vanilla.
- Sift in 1/3 of the dry ingredients at a time, very gently folding it in using a silicone spatula. Do not want to overwork this mixture or else it will deflate.
Bake and serve:
- *Make sure not to open the oven while it is baking, or else the cake may deflate!Transfer batter to angel food cake pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top springs back when gently poked and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
- Remove pan from oven and let fully cool upside down, about 2-3 hours. This will help prevent the cake from deflating.
- Once fully cooled, turn pan right side up. Run an offset spatula along the edges and around the center tube to gently loosen the cake from the pan. Remove cake and enjoy. Optionally serve with powdered sugar, strawberry whipped cream, macerated strawberries, lemon curd, etc.
