This homemade Angel Food Cake recipe is light and airy, and it’s made with only a few simple ingredients. When topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, this easy angel food cake makes a stunning summer dessert.
We’re already mid-April and I have to be honest with you all, I’ve spent a lot of time this month unsure what day, month, and year it is. This whole past year has been a blur, and instead of getting better at it, I’m effectively getting worse.
The weather has been absolutely gorgeous in California (subtle brag 😉) and it feels like summer, all blue skies and blazing sunshine. Spring and summer can sometimes feel interchangeable here, and I’m all for it. I’m a sunshine-and-flip-flops kind of girl, so bring me alllll the beautiful days, Cali.
Ice cream and iced coffees are the foods of summer, and while lighter than air Angel Food Cake is perfect any time of the year, it’s one that just screams summer to me. (And if you want to get really summery, slice up a piece and top it with ice cream! But seriously. It’s an amazing angel food cake topping. Thank me later.)
What Is Angel Food Cake?
Angel food cake is a cake made without any butter or oil (so it’s very low in fat!), and there are no traditional leavening agents, like baking soda or baking powder.
Angel food cake gets its height and volume from the egg whites. As the cake bakes, the egg whites in the batter climb up the sides of the pan, giving the cake a very light and airy texture and giving it plenty of height.
Once out of the oven, the cake has to be inverted so that it can cool and maintain its shape, otherwise the cake will flatten.
Whereas a Devil’s Food Cake is rich and decadent with loads of chocolate (sinful, if you will 😉), angel food cake is soft, airy, and incredibly light in texture.
Why Make Angel Food Cake From Scratch
Angel food cake is one of those desserts I used to find intimidating, mainly because anything that requires you to cool upside-down sounds downright too fragile. And with that dainty daisy of a dessert that is sure to be a disaster, who even needs that kind of negativty in their life?
But you know what? It’s actually fairly easy and straightforward, and the flavor is entirely worth all of the effort.
- It’s light and airy, and practically heavenly, if you will.
- It’s only 8 ingredients, and most of them—if not all—are pantry staples.
- There’s a pinch of almond extract, which makes this cake stand out above the rest.
- Slice it and serve it with berries, whipped cream, ganache, etc., or use it as your cake in a trifle.
Other Recipes to Try Next:
- Lemon Meringue Pie: this also uses egg whites in order to make a tall and thick meringue.
- Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream: this needs egg yolks so if you don’t know what to do with the leftover egg yolks from angel food cake, try homemade ice cream!
- Peanut Butter Pie: This uses egg yolks for the peanut butter custard–another great option to use up any leftover egg yolks!
- Homemade Whipped Cream: I use this recipe for everything! It’s the perfect topping here for this cake.
Ingredients:
- egg whites: The egg whites need to whip into stiff peaks to make a super airy angel food cake. I give tips below on how to handle your egg whites so they whip perfectly every single time.
- vanilla extract and almond extract: this provides a lot of flavor. If you don’t have almond extract or don’t like it, just use all vanilla extract.
- salt
- cream of tartar: this is an important ingredient to make sure the egg whites stabilize
- granulated sugar: this is used in the egg whites and not in the cake batter
- cake flour: cake flour is a lot softer and a more tender flour when baked. If you don’t have access to cake flour, you can use a combination of all purpose flour and cornstarch (I talk more about this below).
- powdered sugar: this is much finer than granulated sugar so it makes a much lighter batter.
How to Make Perfect Angel Food Cake every single time:
Let’s start with the egg whites. How do I separate eggs for angel food cake?
- You need 1 1/2 cups of egg whites, which is about 10-12 egg whites (depending upon the size of your eggs).
- Separate your eggs while they are still cold. The yolks will separate much easier from the whites when cold.
- I use a 3 bowl method to separate eggs, mainly because egg whites will not whip properly if even the smallest amount of yolk mixes with the whites. If I were to get some yolk mixed in with the whites at the final egg? Ugh, that’s a lot of wasted egg whites. So, I have a yolk bowl, an egg white bowl and the bowl I separate the white from the yolk with. Once separated, the yolk goes in the yolk bowl and the egg white gets poured into the egg white bowl.
- Lastly, the egg whites need to be at room temperature to whip properly. Once you have separated the eggs, let the egg whites sit for about 30 minutes before you whip them.
How Do I Whip Egg Whites?
- Use a big bowl. Egg whites will increase quite a bit in volume.
- Your bowl must be clean and dry, otherwise the egg whites will not stiffen properly.
- Use a standing mixer or a hand mixer (while you can whip egg whites by hand, it will take a long, long time).
- Whip the egg whites on med-low speed with the cream of tartar, salt and extracts until the reach soft peaks (the tips curl over and are foamy).
- Next, on medium-high speed, gradually add in granulated sugar, about 2 Tbsp at a time, and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form (the tip stays straight out and does not curl over; like the picture above.) You only want to add the sugar a little bit at a time, because adding too much at once can deflate the egg whites.
Do I have to use cream of tartar?
Yes. The cream of tartar is imperative to helping the egg whites reach their full volume, and cream of tartar also helps stabilize the egg whites.
Can I Make Angel Food Cake Without Cake Flour? Can’t I Make Angel Food Cake with All Purpose Flour?
- Yes! 100% yes. Cake flour yields a lighter more tender crumb texture, which is why many recipes call for cake flour.
- However, you can easily substitute all purpose flour for cake flour by adding in a little bit of cornstarch.
- 1 cup of cake flour is equivalent to 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour + 2 Tbsp cornstarch. Make sure you have sifted the cornstarch and all purpose flour together 2-3 times.
Some final tips for making this Homemade Angel Food Cake recipe (and making it the best angel food cake recipe evahhh!)
- Sift: You need to sift the dry ingredients 4-5 times. I know this seems like a lot, but it’s very important because the dry ingredients need to be as light as possible as to not deflate the egg whites.
- Sugar: This recipe calls for a mix of granulated sugar and powdered sugar. The granulated sugar is for the egg whites and the powdered sugar is for the dry ingredients. The powdered sugar is very light and when sifted (4-5 times 😉) with the flour, it helps make this a very airy and light angel food cake.
- Tube Pan: You need a tube pan. I would avoid using a decorative bundt cake pan because all of the nooks and crannies can make it very difficult to get your angel food cake out of the pan.
- Don’t Grease: Do not grease your tube pan. Do not! I know this seems counter-intuitive, but the cake needs to ‘climb’ up the pan as it bakes. Any type of grease will keep the cake from reaching its full height/volume.
- Air Pockets: Before baking, run a knife through the batter. This will prevent any air pockets.
- Invert: Once the cake is baked, invert the pan immediately. Angel food cake needs to cool upside-down otherwise the cake will deflate.
- Tube pans have a hole in the center, and you can rest your cake on a heat safe bottle (provided the bottle neck fits in the tube pan hole—test this before you bake the cake; don’t ask me how I know this 😉).
- Additionally, a lot of tube pans have handles or even have “feet” (prongs on the side), thus you can cool upside-down a lot easier. My pan did not, so a bottle of avocado oil did the trick.
- Loosen: Lastly, once the angel food cake is cool (about an hour or so), flip it over and run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Over a plate or cake platter, flip the pan over and remove the cake. The cake might need a few gently taps and shakes to get the cake to release.
Ready to make this perfect Angel Food Cake? I know there seems like a lot of steps, but it really is an easy recipe for Angel Food Cake. The steps are just to help you be successful every single time!
This homemade Angel Food Cake recipe is light and airy, and it’s made with only a few simple ingredients. When topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, this easy angel food cake makes a stunning summer dessert.
- 1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 10-12)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract, optional
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup cake flour (or 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour and 2 Tbsp cornstarch, sifted together)
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- Homemade Whipped Cream (recipe linked below)
- fresh berries
- powdered sugar
- Separate eggs while cold, and allow egg whites to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes (separating eggs is easier when the eggs are cold; but the egg whites need to be at room temperature to whip properly).
While the egg whites are coming to room temperature, in a large bowl, sift flour (either cake flour or all purpose flour + cornstarch) and powdered sugar together, 5 times.* Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
With a hand mixer or standing mixer on medium speed, whip egg whites, vanilla extract, almond extract (if using), salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add granulated sugar, about 2 Tbsp at a time, beating on high, until stiff peaks form (see picture above for stiff peaks).
- Gently fold flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, into the egg white mixture, until combined.
- Spoon batter into an un-greased 10 inch tube pan gently (the pan must be un-greased).
- Cut through the batter with a knife, as this removes any air pockets.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the cake is lightly golden brown and any of the cracks in the top of the cake look dry.
Immediately invert the pan upside-down, allowing it to cool for about 1 hour. (I inverted mine and rested it on a heat proof bottle.) Once cooled, use a knife to loosen the sides of the cake and invert cake onto a plate/serving dish (it might take a couple gentle shakes and taps to get the cake to come out of the pan).
- Cut cake and serve with whipped cream and fresh berries.
- Cake can be stored at room temperature for a couple of days; any longer and the cake should be stored in the fridge.
- Enjoy!
*While this might seem like overkill, sifting the ingredients is imperative to making sure the angel food cake is light and airy. In my testing, I found that sifting the ingredients together 5 times yielded the lightest cake.
**Adapted from Taste of Home.
Pictures and Post updated 2021.
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Jenn says
Made this over the weekend to test out for the 4th–it was delicious! Will definitely be making this for our family get together!
Traci Kenworth says
Divine!