This timeless angel food cake recipe yields a spectacularly tall, super light and airy cake with an incredibly soft, tender texture—it’s like biting into a cloud! Enjoy it plain, or elevate it with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh strawberries (or any berry of your choice!) for the most wonderfully light, not-too-sweet dessert.
What is Angel Food Cake?
Angel food cake is a super light and fluffy cake made mostly from egg whites, sugar, and flour. It’s basically a sponge cake but only egg whites are used. It has a delicate texture and has a snow white interior and a golden brown exterior.
Unlike many other cakes, angel food cake doesn’t contain butter or oil, making it low in fat. It also doesn’t contain any baking powder or baking soda. It’s usually baked in a special tube pan and cooled upside down to keep its airy structure. My very popular sponge cake recipe is cooled upside down as well for the exact same reason!
Angel food cake is commonly served with fresh fruit, whipped cream, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar. It’s the perfect dessert if you’re in the mood for something light and not-too-sweet!
Tips for Making the Perfect Angel Food Cake
Angel food cake is relatively straightforward to make, but it can be a little tricky due to its delicate nature. Here are a few important tips to ensure that you get your angel food cake perfect! 🙂
Use a tube pan: The correct pan is important for an angel food cake. Bake the cake in an ungreased tube pan (that’s right – no greasing or lining the pan!) as this allows the batter to cling to the sides and rise properly, giving you a wonderful light and fluffy texture. A tube pan is also sometimes referred to as an angel food cake pan!
Use room temperature eggs: Ensure your egg whites are fresh and at room temperature for the best volume when beaten. I would also recommend using fresh eggs as opposed to frozen or carton egg whites. You can use the leftover egg yolks to make lemon curd, french buttercream or pop them into something you’re cooking!
Avoid any fat: Make sure all utensils, bowls, and the tube pan are completely free of any grease or fat, as even a small amount can prevent the egg whites from whipping properly.
Beat egg whites to soft peaks: After trialling (and failing many times with angel food cake!), I’ve found that whipping to soft peaks makes for the best texture and rise. If you whip to stiff peaks, your angel food cake won’t rise as much while baking and is more likely to collapse.
Avoid Opening the Oven Door: Refrain from opening the oven door during baking, as the sudden temperature change can cause the cake to fall.
Cool upside down: Once baked, cool the angel food cake upside down in the pan. This prevents the cake from collapsing as it cools. Don’t worry, the cake won’t fall out! 🙂
How to Make Angel Food Cake
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) conventional (see note 1 if using a convection oven with a fan) and have a 10-inch tube pan ready (do not grease or line it – leave as is).
Sift together flour, cornstarch and powdered sugar. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside for now, but keep the sieve handy as the dry ingredients will be sifted a second time.
To a large mixing bowl, add in egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Using a hand or stand mixer on a medium-high speed (if using a stand mixer use the whisk attachment), whip for 30 seconds until frothy, then gradually add in white granulated sugar – about a tablespoon at a time. Once all the sugar is added in, continue to whip until you reach soft peaks that hold their shape (see note 2). This should take roughly 5-7 minutes depending on the size and power of your mixer.
Next add vanilla and almond extract/essence (almond flavor is optional but recommended) to the egg whites and mix on a low speed until well combined. Do not overmix.
Sift the flour mixture from earlier into the egg whites in three batches, gently folding in each batch with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. You should end up with a thick, almost melted marshmallow like batter.
Distribute the batter evenly into the 10-inch tube pan. Gently smooth out the top with a spatula and then run a skewer or knife through the batter to remove any large air bubbles. Smooth out the top again if needed, give the tin a little shake and then drop it twice on the counter. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is set and slowly springs back when you touch it. You can also check with a skewer and if it comes out clean the cake is done.
Immediately turn the cake pan upside down on a cooling rack and allow it to completely cool. If you leave the cake upright, it will likely collapse – so don’t forget this very crucial step!
Once cool, run a thin knife or spatula around the outer edge and inner edge of the tube pan and invert the cake onto a serving plate/cake stand.
Slice with a serrated knife in a gentle sawing motion to prevent squashing the cake. Serve with whipped cream (recipe below) and berries!
Whipped Cream
In a bowl combine heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Using a hand or stand mixer on a medium speed, whip until you reach medium-stiff peaks. Be careful not to overwhip. Spoon beside a slice of angel food cake and top with strawberries (or fresh berries of your choice like raspberries, blueberries or blackberries).
How to Store Angel Food Cake
Angel food cakes is best served on the day its made. If you have leftovers, pop the cake into an airtight container and leave at room temperature for two days. For longer storage, place the cake in the refrigerator. It can stay fresh in the fridge for up to a week, but refrigeration may cause the cake to become slightly denser.
Angel Food Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Angel Food Cake
- ¾ cup (90 g) all purpose flour - see note 4 if you want to use cake flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar - also known as icing/confectioners sugar
- 1½ cups (360 g) egg whites - about 12 large eggs (but make sure to measure the egg whites), room temperature, fresh egg whites preferred for best volume
- 1¼ tsps cream of tartar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar
- 1½ tsps vanilla extract/essence
- ¼ tsp almond extract/essence
Whipped Cream (optional)
- 1½ cups (360 g) heavy cream - cold
- 1½ tbsp white granulated sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract/essence
Extra (optional)
- 1-2 cups fresh strawberries - or any berry of your choice
Instructions
Angel Food Cake
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) conventional (see note 1 if using a convection oven with a fan) and have a 10-inch tube pan ready (do not grease or line it - leave as is).
- Sift together flour, cornstarch and powdered sugar. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside for now, but keep the sieve handy as the dry ingredients will be sifted a second time.
- To a large mixing bowl, add in egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Using a hand or stand mixer on a medium-high speed (if using a stand mixer use the whisk attachment), whip for 30 seconds until frothy, then gradually add in white granulated sugar - about a tablespoon at a time. Once all the sugar is added in, continue to whip until you reach soft peaks that hold their shape (see note 2). This should take roughly 5-7 minutes depending on the size and power of your mixer.
- Next add vanilla and almond extract/essence to the egg whites and mix on a low speed until well combined. Do not overmix.
- Sift the dry ingredients from earlier into the egg whites in three batches, gently folding in each batch with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3). You should end up with a thick, almost melted marshmallow like batter.
- Distribute the batter evenly into the 10-inch tube pan. Gently smooth out the top with a spatula and then run a skewer or knife through the batter to remove any large air bubbles. Smooth out the top again if needed, give the tin a little shake and then drop it twice on the counter. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is set and slowly springs back when you touch it. You can also check with a skewer and if it comes out clean the cake is done.
- Immediately turn the cake pan upside down and allow it to completely cool. If you leave the cake upright, it will likely collapse - so don't forget this very crucial step!
- Once cool, run a thin knife or spatula around the outer edge and inner edge of the tube pan and invert the cake onto a serving plate/cake stand.
- Cut with a serrated knife in a gentle sawing motion to prevent squashing the cake. Serve with whipped cream and berries!
Whipped Cream
- In a bowl combine heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Using a hand or stand mixer on a medium speed, whip until you reach medium-stiff peaks. Be careful not to overwhip.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
9 Comments
I used your recipe to make my first angel food cake for my sister’s birthday. She always talks about our Grandma’s angel food cake. I was worried I would fail. Grandma’s baking is a lot to live up to. This cake was so moist and soft. I think my Grandma would have been proud. Even my mom who has never eaten angel food cake loved it. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
Aww I am so glad to hear everyone loved the angel food cake Holly! Sounds like you did an incredible job – I’m sure your grandma would have been so proud 🙂
Kia ora MK, I followed your recipe to the gram and it turned out EXCELLENT. Served with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and lightly drizzled with date syrup. Perfection.
Kia ora Alex! Always so lovely hearing from other Kiwis 🙂
So glad to hear you enjoyed the Angel food cake – the addition of date syrup sounds so good! I’ll have to try that sometime 🙂
Kia ora MK, Alex’s flatmate here! I’m not as good a baker as Alex, but my Angle Food Cake turned out delicious too! He made it the other day, and now I’m obsessed! 😆 Thanks for the recipe!
Kia ora Jeremy! Haha so glad you both loved the Angel Cake, sounds like you did a great job with it 😀
Can I use liquid eggs?
Liquid egg whites that is
Hi Rebecca! 🙂 I haven’t tried using liquid egg whites myself (from a carton), though from the research I’ve done, it seems as though they do not whip up as well to stiff peaks when compared to fresh egg whites. With this recipe though, you only whip to soft peaks, so it should work fine 🙂
Would love to hear how you go if you decide to try it out!