Angel Food Cake

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

14 Comments

5 from 6 votes
12 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Angel Food Cake is light and fluffy, made with egg whites, sugar, almond and vanilla flavor, ready in under 90 minutes!

We always have something baking in this kitchen, and right now we’re working on Vanilla Pound Cake, Red Velvet Cupcakes, and Easy Chocolate Cake!

Angel Food CakeANGEL FOOD CAKE

Angel Food Cake is a CLASSIC recipe, and also one of my go-to desserts when we’re looking for something on the lighter side, especially around the holidays. This is made out of egg whites, cake flour, sugar, and two different flavors, almond and vanilla extract. You can make this in a tube pan or as a bundt, based on your preference. And top with whipped cream, nuts, fruit, or chocolate!

How do you make Angel Food Cake?

  • Make sure everything is completely grease free before starting (if not it can cause the cake to fall).
  • Line your pan with only parchment paper.
  • Beat egg whites to stiff peaks, then add in cream of tartar and extracts.
  • Gently fold in dry ingredients to preserve egg whites.
  • Bake in tube pan at 325 degrees for an hour.
  • Remove from oven, add plate and flip pan over and let cool upside down.

What is the difference between Angel Food Cake and Sponge Cake?

The main difference between angel food cake and sponge cake is that angel food cake uses only egg whites, while sponge cake uses both the whites and the yolks. Because of this, angel food cake has a lighter texture while sponge cake is more dense.

Can you make Angel Food Cake the day before?

This angel food cake recipe can be made ahead and stored on the counter, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap. Add any toppings just before serving so they don’t make the cake soggy.

This angel food cake recipe will last about a week on the counter.

WHY DID MY ANGEL FOOD CAKE FALL?

Your cake may have fallen for several reasons. First, make sure you’re not over-mixing the batter. You want to gently fold the egg whites in. Second, watch your oven temperature, and use an oven-safe thermometer to make sure that it’s really cooking at what you set it for.

Slice of Angel Food Cake

CAN I MAKE ANGEL FOOD CAKE IN A CAKE PAN?

You can technically make angel food cake in any cake pan, but you want to find one that’s deep enough to lift the cake up as it bakes and help it to rise. That’s why a bundt pan or tube pan is the usual angel food cake pan of choice.

Can you freeze Angel Food Cake?

Angel food cake is perfect for making ahead and freezing as a whole cake, or as individual serving pieces. Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil to protect the cake.

WHAT TO TOP ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH

TIPS FOR MAKING ANGEL FOOD CAKE

  • Cool your angel food cake upside down in the pan to help prevent the cake from flattening as it cools.
  • If you’re making this around the holidays, save the egg yolks and use them to make this eggnog recipe.
  • Make sure you beat your egg whites until they form stiff peaks, which means the peak does not fall back into the bowl easily. I like to use a stand mixer set on medium-high for this part.
  • I use an ungreased angel food cake pan, only lined with parchment paper for this recipe. You can find these with removable bottoms
  • Make sure your egg whites do not have any yolks in them, which will prevent the eggs from whipping properly. If the eggs are not entirely fat free, they won’t beat into the consistency we’re looking for. You also want to make sure that your egg whites are at room temperature.
  • If your cake starts to brown too much around the edges before it’s done baking, you can cover the pan with aluminum foil to stop it from burning.
  • This recipe calls for cake flour instead of all purpose flour, which can be substituted with 1 cup 14 tablespoons all purpose flour and 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Bring the cake to room temperature before you eat it, especially if it has been refrigerated.

Top down photo of Angel Food Cake

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe
Dinner, then Dessert

Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Cake is light and fluffy, made with egg whites, sugar, almond and vanilla flavor, ready in under 90 minutes!
Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Angel Food Cake
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/4 cups cake flour
  • 1 3/4 cups white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

  • Make sure your pan, stand mixer, sifter and whisks is clean, dry and grease free, then line only the bottom of a tube pan with parchment paper
  • Sift the flour, sugar and salt together.
  • Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, add in the cream of tartar, vanilla and almond extracts and beat until they're just combined.
  • Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites then pour into the tube pan.
  • Place into the oven, then turn it on to 325 degrees and cook for 60 minutes before removing from the oven placing a metal plate over it and flipping the tube pan over to let it cool upside down before removing it.

Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 4g | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 103mg | Sugar: 29g | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes

Angel Food Cake

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

    1. They sell fancy knives just for Angel Food Cakes if you are baking them often – but I just use a serrated bread knife. I’ve heard you can also use dental floss 🙂

      Reply

    2. I hardly ever see recipes that are great for diabetics. I am type 2 and we need to watch the salt, potassium and sugar. Do you have recipes that are much less of those 3 big items. I love a lot of your recipes and saved a few. Thank you

      Reply

    1. Thanks so much for coming back to let me know how much you all enjoyed it. I appreciate the 5 stars.

      Reply