Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Perfectly sweet and delicious cake.
Texture: Fluffy. Light. Airy. Delicate. Everything you’d ever want in an Angel Food Cake!
Ease: Definitely more of an advanced recipe, so make sure to read all the tips in the Sprinkle of Science section below, for everything you need to know!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: You can pick whatever toppings you’d like from berries to whipped cream to ice cream.
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Angel Food Cake is one of those dessert recipes where the recipe name couldn’t be more perfect.
I learned a lot while testing this recipe! It’s quite a finicky cake, and perfecting this recipe turned out to be quite the challenge.
I failed quite a few times before nailing the perfect recipe, so be sure to keep reading to learn all my must-know baking tips, so your cake turns out perfectly every time.
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There aren’t many desserts quite like the Angel Food Cake. It’s so unique in its taste and texture. It’s a crowd-pleasing option for birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or any spring or summertime gathering.
I hope you love this Angel Food Cake recipe as much as we do!
Reader Love
This Angel Food Cake was amazing! This is my first time trying to make it from scratch. I’ll never go back to a box mix! Thank you!
–
Sprinkle of Science
The Ingredients in Angel Food Cake
Do not skip reading this section! Success in making the perfect Angel Food Cake truly comes down to using the right ingredients and handling them properly.
Why Use Cake Flour? Can I Use All-Purpose Flour Instead?
You cannot use all-purpose flour or DIY cake flour in this recipe because it is too heavy and the cake will likely sink or even collapse.
Cake flour is very finely milled from soft wheat from the heart of the wheat endosperm. Its protein content is lower than all-purpose flour. This helps to give cake flour its very fine and silky soft texture.
That fineness is actually why cake flour should be sifted before use, as it’s more likely to clump together.
Bleached cake flour has a lower protein content and is able to absorb more moisture than unbleached cake flour, making it ideal for creating towering, fluffy Angel Food Cake.
For best results, use bleached cake flour. You can read all about my experiments with cake flour, including why I don’t recommend DIY cake flour in my Cake Flour 101 article!
The All-Important Egg Whites!
There is no chemical leavening agent (baking powder or baking soda) in this recipe. Instead, Angel Food Cake is leavened primarily by the air that is beaten into egg whites. Here are some egg tips:
- Weigh your whites: Make sure you weigh out your egg whites, especially if using pasture-raised or locally-grown eggs, as those egg sizes tend to vary more.
- Room temperature: Make sure the egg whites are completely at room temperature before you begin, as this maximizes the aeration achieved while whipping.
- Yolk-free zone: Be careful not to get any egg yolk in with the whites when separating. I recommend cracking the eggs into a small bowl, then adding the whites one at a time into the mixing bowl. This way, if one yolk breaks, it doesn’t ‘contaminate’ the whole batch.
- Separate while cold: Crack your eggs and separate them while cold, and then allow the whites to come to room temperature. Warmer egg yolks tend to break apart more easily. Separating while still cold maximizes your chances of keeping the egg yolk intact and ensuring your whites stay yolk-free.
- If you skip any steps in preparing the egg whites, your cake may sink or collapse.
Can I Use Egg Whites From a Carton, Frozen Egg Whites, or Egg White Substitutes?
I don’t recommend using carton egg whites or egg whites that have been frozen for this recipe. Neither will aerate the same way that fresh, just-separated eggs will, meaning your cake won’t rise correctly or evenly. Since there is no chemical leavening agent in this recipe, the egg whites achieving the maximum possible aeration is all the more important! Egg white substitutes will not work.
What Does Cream of Tartar Do in Angel Food Cake?
Cream of tartar is an acid and helps to stabilize the whipped egg whites. There is really no substitution for cream of tartar. If you don’t use cream of tartar in this recipe, the cake will collapse.
Make sure you check the expiration date if you have it in your pantry; it’s one of those ingredients you may use so infrequently that it’s been sitting in there for 5+ years! Make sure it’s still fresh, or the cake may collapse. You can find it with the spices and extracts, in the baking aisle of your grocery store.
What is Angel Food Cake?
Why is it Called Angel Food Cake?
Angel Food Cake is an unbelievably light, pillowy-soft, delicate cake, said to be “so light, it’s fit for the Angels”. This homemade version has soooo much more flavor than the typical store-bought variety – and you won’t believe the difference in the texture! It’s a delicious summertime dessert, especially when served with whipped cream and fresh berries.
How is Angel Food Cake Different From Regular Sponge Cake?
Angel Food Cake differs from regular sponge cake in multiple ways. Angel Food Cake is made using egg whites (no yolks) and no fat. Traditional sponge cakes will typically contain both egg whites and egg yolks, as well as fat (usually in the form of butter or oil). Regular sponge cake also typically contains a chemical leavener (baking powder or baking soda), whereas Angel Food Cake is leavened solely by the air whipped into the egg whites during the process. This all makes for an incredibly light cake, with a texture like no other.
Sponge cakes are generally iced in buttercream or ganache, and are more of a substantial dessert as a result. Angel Food Cake is typically served with berries, whipped cream, or a simple glaze, making it a lighter option.
How to Make the Perfect Angel Food Cake
Tips for Whipping Egg Whites for Angel Food Cake
Listen up! Knowing how to whip your egg whites can be the difference between an impressive, towering slice of cake and one that falls into a sad, dense slump:
Whip Tip 1: Follow all the ingredient instructions mentioned above.
Whip Tip 2: Use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment to whip the egg whites. If you don’t have the whisk attachment, wait until you get one to try this recipe.
Whip Tip 3: In our experimenting, we saw the best results when using an electric stand mixer with the METAL mixing bowl. The metal bowl provided a better deep shape to whip the egg whites to perfection; the glass bowl’s shape made it harder to whip the egg whites. You can use glass, but you may need to whip longer.
Whip Tip 4: Make sure your bowl is completely clean. You can even dampen a paper towel with a splash of vinegar to wipe down the bowl to ensure all grease is removed. Do not use a plastic bowl, it’s nearly impossible to remove traces of grease from plastic.
The Angel Food Cake Pan
You will need a 9-inch, 16-cup unlined tube Angel Food Cake pan for this recipe. This is my favorite Angel Food Cake pan. It even has a removable base, so you can more easily get the cake out of the pan! It also has little prongs around the top of the pan, so the cake can cool upside down, ensuring the best possible structure and preventing the cake from sinking in the middle.
A regular baking pan will not work, and most bundt pans are either too elaborately detailed (this cake would stick in those details!) or are nonstick, making them unsuitable for this cake.
You also cannot use a nonstick pan, as you will not grease the sides of the tube pan. The delicate cake batter needs the ungreased sides of the pan, and the sides of the inner tube, to cling to as it bakes, and again as it cools, or else it will collapse.
How to Cool Angel Food Cake
This has got to be the STRANGEST part of baking an Angel Food Cake! It must be cooled upside down. That’s right. Because we’re not using a nonstick pan or greasing the pan, the cake won’t fall out. This step is crucial to preventing the cake from collapsing when cooling. My pan has a center column that’s longer than the rim of the pan, so it’s steady on its bottom. It also has those protruding ‘legs’ attached to the sides of the pan, which you can tilt to secure it when upside down if needed.
Tips for Removing Angel Food Cake from the Pan
Once cooled completely, carefully run a long, thin, flexible knife or spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Gently lift the removable bottom out of the base of the pan. Gently remove to a serving plate.
Serving & Topping Ideas
- Fresh berries: strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are all delicious choices. Cherries also work well!
- Homemade whipped cream (recipe below!)
- A simple dusting of powdered sugar
- Caramel sauce
- Butterscotch sauce
- Homemade vanilla ice cream
- Lemon curd (great use for those leftover egg yolks!)
Can I Make Angel Food Cake Ahead of Time?
The Angel Food Cake is definitely best eaten the day it’s made, but it will keep for a day or two if wrapped well in plastic wrap or stored inside an airtight container, to prevent it from drying out.
Can I Freeze the Angel Food Cake?
To freeze, wrap the whole cake in plastic wrap (at least a couple of layers), and then freeze on a flat surface in the freezer for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature for a few hours or overnight before serving.
More Summer Recipes You’ll Love:
Angel Food Cake Recipe
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Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup bleached cake flour, sifted (85 grams after sifting)
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar, sifted and divided in half
- 11 to 12 large (360 grams) fresh eggs whites, at room temperature*
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
For the whipped cream:
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Edible flowers, fresh fruit, etc. for garnish
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour and 3/4 cup (150 grams) of the sugar. Set aside.
- In a clean metal bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the room temperature egg whites on medium-low until just beginning to froth. Add the cream of tartar and salt and beat on medium speed until soft cloud-like mounds appear.
- Gradually add in the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all the sugar is added and the mixture is glossy with soft peaks. Add in the vanilla and lemon juice until just combined.
- Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of the flour/sugar mixture over the egg white mixture. Gently fold in with a large rubber spatula. Repeat until all of the flour mixture has been gently stirred in.
- Gently scrape the mixture into a 9-inch ungreased tube pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Tap the pan against the counter to release any large air bubbles and settle the batter.
- Bake until the cake is golden brown and the top springs back when firmly pressed, about 45 minutes.
- If your tube pan has prongs around the rim for lifting, invert the pan onto them. Let the cake cool completely upside down, at least 2 hours. Don’t worry – it won’t fall out of the pan!
- To unmold, run a plastic/silicone knife around the edge of the pan, being careful not to separate the crust. Slide the cake out of the pan and cut around the removable bottom to release. Place the cake bottom side up on a serving platter.
Make the whipped cream:
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cream and sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. Spread all over the top of the cake. Decorate with any garnishes.
To serve:
- Use a sharp serrated knife to gently cut slices. Cake should be served the day it’s made.
Recipe Notes
Photos by Joanie Simon.
While it has a Best Buy date cream of tartar basically lasts for ever. I made a perfect cake with 18 year old cream of tartar 😂😂😂
Hello, is this cake sturdy enough to make a Swiss roll with?
We haven’t tested this recipe as a Swiss roll, so I can’t say for sure, but in general, angel food cake isn’t always ideal for that purpose. It tends to be too light, airy, and delicate to hold its shape when rolled, so it might tear or collapse. For a Swiss roll, I’d recommend looking for an angel food-style roll recipe specifically developed for that—ideally with a whipped cream filling so it’s not too heavy—or opting for a more traditional sponge that’s pliable but sturdy, like a genoise or chiffon-style sponge. These types of cakes have enough structure and flexibility to roll without breaking. I hope that helps! And if you do try our recipe as a Swiss roll, we’d love to hear how it turns out!
This Angel Food Cake was amazing! This is my first time trying to make it from scratch. I’ll never go back to a box mix! Thank you!
How big should the angel food cake pan be? (I couldn’t find it on the recipe.)
Hi Tami! You’ll need a 9-inch, 16-cup unlined tube Angel Food Cake pan for this recipe. Check out the details here in our tip box 🙂