Angel Food Cake Recipe

slice of angel food cake with strawberries on top

This angel food cake recipe makes the lightest, fluffiest, and most cloud-like cake you'll ever taste. This homemade Angel food cake is fat-free and has very little flour so it's also one of the healthiest dessert options.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

cooling 1

Total Time 3

Servings cups

Calories 345kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

Stand mixer or hand mixer
Whisk Attachment

Ingredients

Angel Food Cake Recipe

1 ½ cups egg whites (fresh or pastuerized)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sugar first quantity
¾ cup sugar second quantity
1 ¼ cup cake flour
¼ cup cornstarch

Strawberry Topping

2 cups fresh strawberries trimmed and quartered
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Strawberry Topping

Combine the strawberries, sugar, zest, and lemon juice together in a bowl and set aside while the angel food cake is cooling. The sugar will dissolve over time and create a delicious syrup!

How to Separate an Egg

Set up 3 bowls, one for the yolks, one to crack the whites into, and one for all the egg whites. The reason we have the 2nd and 3rd bowls is if you mess up and accidentally get some yolk in the 2nd bowl, it won't ruin all of your already separated eggs.
Crack the egg on a flat surface and gently break it apart with two hands. Then hold it over the 2nd bowl and slowly move the yolk back and forth between the two eggshells. Be careful to not break the yolk. Once all the white is in the 2nd bowl, add the yolk to the 1st bowl and pour the whites into the 3rd bowl. Repeat until all your eggs are separated. Egg yolks can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.

Making Angel Food Cake

Preheat your oven to 375ºF. It's important that the oven is fully pre-heated before you put the cake in the oven, which can take up to 30 minutes.
To ensure your bowl and whisk are clean, wipe them out with a clean towel and some white vinegar to remove any bits of fat that might be there.
Sift together the first quantity of sugar, flour, and cornstarch into a large bowl and set it aside.
Weigh the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a food scale. Whip with the whisk attachment on medium for 30 seconds until they start to get foamy.
Reduce the speed to low and add in your cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla.
Continue mixing on low and begin sprinkling in the second amount of remaining sugar.
Increase to medium speed and whip the mixture to soft but firm peaks. They should look glossy and moist and the peaks should gently fold over when you scoop them.
Sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture about ⅓ cup at a time and gently fold them together with a rubber spatula. Refer to the video to see how to fold properly. The idea is to avoid knocking any air out of the meringue while folding to keep the batter very fluffy.
Repeat this sifting and folding process until all of the flour mixture has been folded into the meringue.
Carefully pour the angel food cake batter into an ungreased tube pan. You need the cake to stick to the sides of the pan to help it rise while it's baking.
Slide a knife or offset spatula through the batter to pull out any big air bubbles that might be trapped in there. Smooth the top with a spoon so the batter is level.
Bake the angel food cake in the oven on the center rack for 40-45 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown and the top springs back when you touch it.
Take the cake out of the oven and cool it upside down for about 1 hour. Some tube pans have little feet that hold the pan upside down or the center tube might just be a little taller than the sides. If your pan doesn't have these options you can cool the pan upside down on a wine bottle to keep it elevated. Cooling the cake upside down helps the cake keep its volume.
Once the pan is completely cool, you can slide a butter knife between the cake and the pan to detach the cake. If it's an invert pan with a removable bottom, you can push it out now or just give the cake a couple of gentle shakes to get the cake to come out.
I like to dust the top of the cake with some powdered sugar and add some whipped cream and fresh strawberries but the possibilities are endless! This is easiest to slice with a serrated knife.
Store the cake at room temperature for up to 4 days (without whipped cream) in an airtight container or covered it with plastic wrap.

Video

Notes

BEFORE YOU START – For best results, use a food scale to weigh your ingredients. Converting this recipe to cups could lead to failure. Read my blog post on how to use a scale for more information.
I'm using my Bosch Universal Plus mixer for this recipe, you can use a KitchenAid mixer with a metal bowl or a hand mixer.
There is no baking powder or rising ingredient in this recipe. The only thing that creates lift is the egg whites, so be sure to whip them up to be super light and fluffy. All the air is going to give the cake its lift!
Make sure you use a metal bowl to make the meringue, and that the bowl is super clean. Any grease will prevent your egg whites from whipping up. You can even wipe it out with a little bit of white vinegar to be extra cautious.
Remember to not let a speck of egg yolk into your egg whites. Any lingering yolks could stop your meringue from whipping up.
You can use pasteurized egg whites instead of fresh. If you use pasteurized, you MUST also use cream of tartar to help stabilize.
The cornstarch in this recipe helps to keep the cake super light and fluffy and not too dense or "eggy."
When folding your meringue and flour together, sweep underneath the meringue with a spatula and gently drag up through the center to fold on top. Be careful to never smash or mix vigorously, be patient!
DO NOT GREASE YOUR PAN! Angel food cake cools upside down, so it actually needs to stick to the sides of the pan. This ensures that the cake doesn’t collapse in on itself while cooling.
A tube pan is best to use for angel food cake. The large tube in the center helps bring some of the heat up through the middle of the cake, baking it faster and more evenly. You cannot use a bundt cake pan, but you can use a 9”x5” if needed.

Nutrition