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Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Cake Recipe

Light-as-air angel food cake is beyond delicious! Try it with a big dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 168
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 13/4 cups granulated sugar ((350g))
  • 1 cup cake flour ((112g))
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 11/2 cups large egg whites ((10-12 large eggs) (355g))
  • 11/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Equipment

  • Zero fat in the batter
  • Pantry staples throughout
  • Crowd-pleasing appearance
  • Genuinely budget-friendly

Method
 

  1. Prep the oven and pan
    Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 350°F (177°C). Set a clean, completely dry, completely ungreased 9 or 10-inch tube pan nearby. Grease on the pan surface prevents the batter from climbing the sides and produces a flat, collapsed cake.
  2. Blitz the sugar
    Place all 1¾ cups of granulated sugar into a food processor and blend for about 1 minute until finely ground. Remove 1 cup (200g) of the fine sugar and set it in a medium bowl. Leave the rest in the food processor.
  3. Make the flour mixture
    Add the cake flour and salt to the food processor with the remaining sugar. Pulse ten times until combined.
  4. Sift the reserved sugar
    Set a fine-mesh sieve over the medium bowl containing the reserved 1 cup of fine sugar and sift it through. Discard any large grains caught in the sieve.
  5. Sift the flour mixture
    Place the same sieve over a large bowl and sift the flour and sugar mixture through it. Set this bowl aside.
  6. Whip the egg whites
    Combine the room-temperature egg whites and cream of tartar in a large, completely grease-free mixing bowl. Beat on low speed with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until the whites turn frothy across the surface, about 1 minute.
  7. Add sugar to the whites
    Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the reserved 1 cup of fine sugar one tablespoon at a time, waiting a few seconds between additions. Once all the sugar incorporates, beat until the whites reach soft, glossy peaks that flop over at the tip when the whisk lifts out. This takes about 5 minutes total. Add the vanilla and beat on low for ten seconds. Stiff peaks prevent the cake from rising in the oven, so stop at the soft, floppy stage.
  8. Fold in the flour
    Sift one-third of the flour and sugar mixture over the egg whites and fold gently with a wide silicone spatula using slow, sweeping strokes from the bottom of the bowl upward. Repeat with the second third, then the final third. Gentle folding preserves the air structure that makes this cake rise. Aggressive stirring produces a flat, dense result.
  9. Fill the pan
    Transfer the batter into the ungreased tube pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Run a thin knife or skewer through the batter in a slow circle to release any large trapped air bubbles. Tap the pan gently on the counter twice.
  10. Bake
    Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the surface turns deep golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake rises well above the pan rim during baking.
  11. Cool upside down
    Invert the pan immediately onto its built-in feet or onto the neck of a bottle if your pan has no feet. Leave the cake to cool completely upside down for at least 1 hour. Cooling right-side up allows gravity to compress the foam structure before it sets and produces a flat, dense disk rather than a tall sponge.
  12. Remove and serve
    Run a thin knife along the outer edge of the pan and around the center tube. Pull the center piece free, then run the knife along the bottom of the pan. Invert onto a cake stand and dust with powdered sugar if desired. Use a serrated bread knife to slice, since a standard chef's knife compresses the sponge flat with each cut.

Recipe Notes

🥚 Separate Eggs Cold, Whip Them Warm.
Cold egg yolks hold together more firmly and break less easily during separation. Cold egg whites whip to significantly less volume than room-temperature ones. Separate every egg individually into a small bowl before transferring the white to the main measuring cup, so a single broken yolk doesn't contaminate the entire batch. One drop of yolk in the bowl prevents the whites from whipping at all. ✅
🍳 The Pan Must Stay Completely Ungreased.
Every instinct in a baker's body says to butter the pan before adding batter. For angel food cake, that instinct produces a collapsed, flat disaster. The batter needs to grip the dry aluminum sides to climb upward during baking. A greased surface causes the cake to slide down the moment it hits the oven heat. Don't grease it, don't flour it, don't even think about nonstick spray. 🚫
☁️ Stop Whipping at Soft Peaks, Not Stiff Peaks.
Soft peaks flop over gently when the whisk lifts out of the bowl. Stiff peaks stand straight up and point at the ceiling. An angel food cake batter made with stiff peaks has no room to expand in the oven and produces a dense, chewy sponge rather than the airy, cloud-like result this recipe delivers. Pull the bowl off the mixer the moment the peaks hold their shape with a slight droop at the tip. ⚠️
🔄 Cool Upside Down for the Full Hour.
An angel food cake pulled right-side up from the oven and set on the counter compresses under its own weight before the egg white foam sets. The entire structure collapses into a flat disk in under ten minutes. Inverting the pan immediately after baking and leaving it upside down for a full hour allows the foam to set in its expanded position while hanging from the pan sides. 🕐
🔪 Use a Serrated Knife to Slice.
A standard chef's knife pressed downward through an angel food cake compresses the delicate sponge into a flat, gummy layer before the cut completes. A serrated bread knife drawn gently back and forth through the surface slices each piece clean without any compression. Two slow sawing strokes cut through the entire cake more cleanly than one firm downward press. ✨