Old Fashioned Angel Food Cake Recipe

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Using merely 6 ingredients, this perfect angel food cake bakes up tall, light, and airy. For best results, follow this recipe and video tutorial closely. The fragile texture tin can only exist achieved with particular ingredients and careful mixing methods.

Ready for a slice of heaven? We are no stranger to decadent and rich cakes. But what well-nigh a cake recipe where butter, fat, and egg yolks run away in fright? Encounter angel food cake. Affections nutrient cake is a low fat cake recipe fabricated mostly from egg whites, block flour, and sugar. It'south pristine white on the inside with a chewy light chocolate-brown crumb around the exterior. What information technology lacks in butter makes upwards for in texture. This tall, tender, and timeless cake has a cloud-like crumb and ultra calorie-free season.

I've published angel food cupcakes and a super fun sprinkle angel food cake on my weblog, simply now it's time visit where both originate: classic homemade angel food cake!

Affections Food Cake Video Tutorial

Let's swoop right in. First, here's a video tutorial where I walk you through each step. The steps and ingredients are pretty straightforward, but it'southward ever helpful to accept a clear visual. 🙂

6 Angel Nutrient Cake Ingredients

You lot only demand 6 ingredients to make affections food cake. With so lilliputian ingredients, understand that each one is imperative to the cake's final gustatory modality and texture. Here's the breakdown:

Granulated Sugar:The recipe begins with granulated carbohydrate. Pulse it in a nutrient processor to create superfine sugar. Superfine sugar's granules are the all-time size to provide optimal structure for angel food cake. It'due south not as coarse as granulated carbohydrate and not as fine as confectioners' sugar. Granulated carbohydrate is merely also coarse, while confectioners' sugar dissolves as well quickly in the egg whites.
Block Flour: Block flour is a low poly peptide flour and yields a tender angel food cake. Practice not use all-purpose flour considering the cake will gustatory modality like white bread…! In a pinch, you can use this cake flour substitute. Just real cake flour is ideal.
Common salt: Adds flavor.
Egg Whites:You'll notice at that place's no blistering powder or blistering soda. The egg whites are actually the sole leavening ingredient providing all the cake's ascension. Use freshly separated eggs because they aerate the all-time. Carton egg whites or egg whites that have been frozen won't expand as much during the whipping process, which will negatively touch on the ascent of your cake. Yous'll take a lot of leftover egg yolks, then make some lemon curd and serve information technology with the cake!
Foam of Tartar: Cream of tartar is an acid and stabilizes the whipped egg whites, just as it does in my chocolate swirled meringue cookies too. Without it, the block would collapse. Other acids, such equally lemon juice, can piece of work merely they aren't nearly as effective. Cream of tartar is establish in the spice aisle and is actually a mutual baking ingredient. I accept many recipes calling for it!
Vanilla Excerpt: Adds flavor.

How to Brand Perfect Angel Nutrient Cake

I'grand confident this will be the most perfect angel food cake to ever hit your lips. We can't achieve angel food cake perfection for free, so make sure you follow these steps closely.

Pulse the granulated sugar into superfine carbohydrate. Use a nutrient processor or blender.
Set 1 loving cup of the superfine sugar bated. You lot'll add it to the egg whites.
Add cake flour and salt to food processor. Pulse them with the remaining saccharide. This aerates the dry ingredients.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar together.Beat on medium-depression speed until foamy.
Slowly add one loving cup of superfine carbohydrate. Turn the mixer up to medium-high and pour in the superfine saccharide you lot set bated.
Beat into soft peaks.Whip the egg whites, foam of tartar, and superfine sugar into soft and lofty peaks. This takes at least 5 minutes. After that, add the vanilla.
Sift and fold in dry out ingredients.In three additions, sift and fold in the dry ingredients.
Pour/spread concoction into a tube pan. Practise not grease the tube pan. Greasing the pan causes the batter to slip downward the sides, preventing it from properly rising. If you already greased it, wash and wipe information technology completely clean.
Bake at 325°F (163°C). A higher temperature won't properly melt the cake.
Cool upside down on a wire rack.If cooled upright, the block's own weight will shell itself. Cool it upside-down on a cooling rack so it holds its shape and air can reach it.
Run a thin knife effectually the edges to release.Tap the pan on the counter a few times to help loosen the cake, besides.
Slice with a serrated knife.A regular sharp pocketknife squishes the block.

Can I use a Bundt pan for angel food cake? No, do non utilise a Bundt pan for angel food cake. You'll have a very difficult fourth dimension getting information technology out in one piece. You need a tube pan which has a flat bottom and straight sides. If you lot don't have one, I recommend this tube pan. It's relatively inexpensive for its not bad quality. Though it's labeled as nonstick, the coating is VERY sparse and has never been an upshot for my angel food cakes.

And good news: here's a helpful fox for how to bake angel food cake without a tube pan.

Y'all need 1 cup (xvi Tablespoons) + 2 Tablespoons of block flour. Sounds like an odd amount, but xviii Tablespoons is the precise quantity to bring enough structure to the block.

Soft Peaks, Not Strong Peaks

Recall, whip the egg whites into soft peaks. (Pictured above.) Soft peaks don't hold a stiff shape. Instead, they "wilt" back into the mixture after a few seconds. Soft peaks are the optimum consistency considering they'll keep to expand in the oven. Stiff peaks, on the other manus, means that the egg whites have been over-whipped for affections nutrient cake and will likely collapse in the oven.

Important to remember: Don't let a driblet of egg yolks into the mixing bowl. Whatsoever lingering fatty could prevent the egg whites from forming peaks at all. Crevice eggs over an egg separator into a small-scale bowl, then add together the whites one-by-one into the mixing bowl. This way if the yolk breaks, it doesn't break straight in the mixing bowl.

Sift the dry ingredients over the beaten egg whites in a few additions, gently folding together after each addition. The goal is to retain as much of the whipped book every bit possible. Pouring the dry out ingredients on top all at in one case will rapidly deflate the egg whites.

The Magic is in the Details

I've thrown a lot of information at you in this post, so here'south a quick summary of all the important success tips. Recall that the magic is all in the details.

Employ freshly separated egg whites.
Pulse granulated sugar into superfine sugar.
Whip egg whites into soft peaks, non strong peaks.
Sift and gently fold in dry ingredients.
Do not grease the tube pan.
Cool the cake upside-down on a wire rack.
Use a serrated knife to slice.

Helpful Tools

Nutrient Processor – These range in price. Yous tin use a little ninja, a big nutrient processor, or fifty-fifty a blender.
Egg Separator – This is very inexpensive, but SO HANDY!!!
Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Fine Mesh Strainer (Sieve/Sifter)
Tube Pan
Cooling Rack

Desire to make angel nutrient cupcakes? I accept y'all covered. 🙂

Affections food cake doesn't need to hide under frosting, but tastes beatific with fresh berries and a dollop of whipped cream! Experience free to dust the top with confectioners' saccharide, besides. If y'all enjoy these flavors together, yous'll beloved my fresh berry foam cake. (Which, if I'm being honest, isn't quite as fussy as this block!)

I know what you're thinking: is this cake really worth it? The answer is YES. Angel food cake boasts a texture like no other and in one case you lot get through the process, you'll understand the preparation isn't that hard– it'south just a piddling picky. 😉 Let's do this!

Description

Using only half-dozen ingredients, thisperfect angel food cake bakes up tall, light, and blusterous. For all-time results, read the recipe in full before beginning and accept all your ingredients ready to get. Enjoy!

1 and 3/four cups (350g) granulated sugar*
ane cup + 2 Tablespoons (133g) block flour (spoon & leveled)
1/four teaspoon salt
12 large egg whites, at room temperature*
1 and 1/two teaspoons cream of tartar
1 and one/ii teaspoons pure vanilla extract
optional: confectioners' sugar for dusting, whipped cream, and berries

Conform the oven rack to the lower middle position and preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
In a food processor or blender, pulse the sugar until fine and powdery. Remove 1 cup and gear up aside to use in stride 3; continue the rest within the food processor. Add the cake flour and salt to the food processor. Pulse v-10 times until saccharide/flour/salt mixture is aerated and light.
In a big basin using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium-depression until foamy, virtually 1 minute. Switch to medium-high and slowly add the 1 cup of sugar yous set aside. Whip until soft peaks form, about v-6 minutes. Come across photograph and video above for a visual. Add together the vanilla extract, then beat just until incorporated.
In three additions, slowly sift the flour mixture into the egg white mixture using a fine mesh strainer, gently folding with a rubber spatula after each addition. To avoid deflating or a dense cake, don't add together the flour mixture all at one time. Sift and very slowly fold in several additions. This is important! Pour and spread batter into an ungreased 9 or 10 inch tube pan. Shimmy the pan on the counter to smooth downward the surface.
Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. The cake will rise up very alpine while blistering. Remove from the oven, then cool the block completely upside-down assault a wire rack, nearly three hours. (Upside-down so the bottom of the tube pan is correct-side up, see photo and video above.) In one case cooled, run a thin knife around the edges and gently tap the pan on the counter until the block releases.
If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar. Slice the cake with a sharp serrated pocketknife. Regular knives tin can easily squish the cake. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Fix the angel food block one solar day in advance, then encompass tightly and store at room temperature overnight. Angel food block can exist frozen for upwardly to iii months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, so bring to room temperature earlier serving.
Sugar: In this recipe, you use granulated sugar and pulse it in a food processor to brand superfine sugar. If yous have superfine carbohydrate or caster sugar, use that. Pulse three/4 loving cup of information technology with the dry out ingredients in step ii. Utilise 1 cup of it in step 3.
Egg Whites: I strongly recommend using fresh real egg whites instead of egg white substitutes, previously frozen egg whites, or egg whites from a carton. Separate the eggs when they're cold, then bring the egg whites to room temperature. Fresh room temperature egg whites whip into the fluffiest book. With the extra yolks, brand lemon curd or some of these recipes.
Pan: An angel food cake pan (aka tube pan) is imperative. Do not utilise a Bundt pan. Angel nutrient block'southward construction and stability requires the tube pan's particular specifications. Some angel food cake pans come with piffling feet, which makes cooling the block upside downwards piece of cake. If your pan has feet, no demand to use a wire rack. Whether your tube pan has feet or non, cool the block upside down every bit directed in step 5.

Adapted from Melt'due south Illustrated

Keywords: cake, whipped cream