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Tips for Angel Food Cake success: Use fresh whites, not pasteurized. Frozen fresh whites are fine. Don't whip on high speed. dont add sugar until soft peak clean bowl and whisk, no grease Fold with a spatula just until combined. Don't overfold Use a tube pan Don't grease the pan Cool upside down Don't over bake. The cake should not pull away from the sides of the pan.
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4.75 from 32 reviews

Angel Food Cake

Eileen Gray
Light as a feather, not too sweet, tender and moist Angel Food Cake is possible with the right ingredients and, especially, with the right technique.
Prep Time30 minutes
Bake Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Servings:12 slices

Ingredients

  • 4 ½ oz cake flour (1 cup, see note)
  • 12 oz sugar (1 ½ cups, divided)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 12 large egg whites (14 oz)
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 oz water (¼ cup)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Have an angel food pan, or tube pan, ungreased, ready for the batter.
  • Into a medium bowl sift 4 ½ oz cake flour, half the sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk the ingredients together to distribute the salt and sugar evenly. Set aside.
  • In a large mixer bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk12 large egg whites on medium speed (#6-7) until frothy. Add 1 teaspoon cream of tartar and continue whipping until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, gradually add the remaining sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high (#7-8) and continue whipping until stiff peaks are formed. The total whipping time will be about 8-10 minutes.
  • Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 oz water and whip back to full peak.
  • Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the meringue and use a spatula to fold in the flour until it's almost incorporated. Sift and fold in the remaining flour mixture in two batches. Fold just until all the flour is incorporated. The batter will still be quite fluffy.
  • Scoop the batter into the tube pan and spread to even layer. Bake until the cake is lightly browned and springs back when pressed or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and immediately invert the pan over a cooling rack. Leave the pan inverted until the cake is completely cool.
  • Run a small spatula or paring knife around the sides of the cake to loosen and release the cake from the pan.
  • The cake will keep, well-wrapped, at room temperature for several days.

Video

Notes

If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.

Nutrition

Serving: 12g | Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.03g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 0.2IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.1mg