Angel Food Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to angel food cake? ›

Angel food cake is one-of-a-kind, and no other cake recipe matches its super fluffy, airy texture. Though it's a type of sponge cake, it differs from other popular recipes because it's traditionally made using no butter or oil in the batter. Instead, beaten egg whites are the secret to its ultra-light texture.

Transfer the cake batter to the angel food cake pan. Using a silicone spatula or spoon, gently level the top. Bake the pan in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the cake rises to the top, turns golden brown, and the top springs back quickly.

In delicate sponge-type cakes (like chiffon or angel food cake) there are two moments for concern. First, when you're whipping the egg foam, and second, when you're incorporating the flour. An overmixed egg foam will be slack, wet, loose, and unable to hold peaks.

A small bit of moisture or egg yolk mixed in with the egg whites, a particularly humid day, or repeatedly opening your oven can also cause the cake to not rise. Over-mixing the batter once you've added the flour is another likely culprit, mix until just combined.

The egg whites are actually the sole leavening ingredient providing all the cake's rise. Use freshly separated eggs because they aerate the best. Carton egg whites or egg whites that have been frozen won't expand as much during the whipping process, which will negatively affect the rise of your cake.

If your tube pan has prongs around the rim for lifting, invert the pan onto them. Let the cake cool completely upside down, at least 2 hours. Don't worry – it won't fall out of the pan! To unmold, run a plastic/silicone knife around the edge of the pan, being careful not to separate the crust.

Its aerated texture comes from whipped egg white. Angel food cake originated in the United States and first became popular in the late 19th century. It gained its unique reputation along with its name due to its light and fluffy texture and white color.

Incorporate too little air and your cake won't rise enough. Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.

It's not just the raw eggs. Don't do this. Most of us know that raw eggs in cookie dough and cake batter can carry salmonella, but a new warning from the FDA and surge of product recalls is a grim reminder that raw flour could be making us sick, too.

Why can't you use a plastic bowl for angel food cake? ›

To begin with, use a bowl made of unlined copper, stainless steel, ceramic or glass. Not recommended are aluminum, which will tint the egg whites gray, and plastic, because with plastic it's almost impossible to remove the traces of fat that have accumulated from previous uses.

Give your boxed angel food cake mix a summery twist by adding a can of crushed pineapple to it. Gently fold it into the whisked batter, careful not to deflate the mixture. If you over-whisk it, the cake will turn out chewy and dense.

Topping & Serving Ideas

One of the many things I love about angel food cake is that each slice is delicious with just about anything. A few of my favorite angel food cake toppings are: Homemade whipped cream or 7-minute frosting. Fresh fruit or berries (blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries are my favorite!)

Because they have been pasteurized, liquid egg whites (from a carton) won't work in Angel Food Cake or other desserts like Meringue. The pasteurization process weakens the proteins in egg whites so they won't get stiff like they are supposed to.

Remember - your batter will not be as stiff as a meringue. Do not grease the angel food cake tube pan (one in which the center tube is higher than the walls of pan and the bottom is removable.) You want the batter to cling to the side while it is rising. A greased pan will not allow the batter to rise.

Not Whipping the Egg Whites Correctly

Without yeast to act as a leavening agent, an angel food cake relies completely on the egg whites to rise. You want to whip the whites just until they form soft peaks; whipping too much will make the cake chewy and dense.