Angel Food Cake
My dad’s favorite cake was Angel Food. Now Monte loves it, too, and requested it for his birthday. 😊 I don’t mind using all the egg whites because I can use the yolks to make one of my favorite desserts, Crème brûlée. 😄
Angel Food Cake
This light and airy cake was my dad's favorite.
Servings 14
Calories 129kcal
Equipment
- tube cake pan
- Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup cake flour see note, below
- ¾ cup confectioners' sugar
- 1½ cups egg whites (takes about 9 or 10 large eggs) see note, below
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 1 cup white sugar
Directions
- Move oven rack to lower setting. Preheat oven 375°F/191°C. Ensure the tube cake pan is clean and does not have any grease. Ditto the mixing bowl.
- Stir flour and confectioner's sugar together. Sift twice to ensure there are no lumps and mixture is combined equally. Set aside.
- Beat egg whites and salt on high until foamy. Add cream of tartar, vanilla, and almond extract, continuing to beat.
- When soft peaks form that bend over slightly at the tips, slowly pour in the white sugar.
- When stiff peaks form that keep their shape, reduce mixing speed to low. Add the flour about ¼ cup at a time, continuing to mix until all the flour is incorporated. Turn off mixer and use a spatula to scrap down and mix in any flour sticking to the sides of the bowl.
- Use the spatula to scrape big dollops of dough into the cake pan. Spread it around evenly,. Swirl a butter knife through the dough to remove any air pockets.
- Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Invert pan onto a wire rack or flat surface to cool.
- When cooled, turn cake upright. Use a butter knife to cut between both the outer and inner edge of the cake and the pan. Invert cake onto a plate and push on the bottom of the pan to release the pan's main section. Use the butter knife to cut along the bottom section of pan and the cake. Remove the tube section.
Notes
Don’t have cake flour? Make it yourself:
- Measure out 1 cup all-purpose flour.
- Remove 2 tablespoons of the flour.
- Replace it with 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Don’t toss the egg yolks! Save the yolks and make Crème Brûlée! Have only 6 yolks from making Crème Brûlée? Use the following measurements to make a slightly less tall Angel Food Cake:
- ⅔ cup cake flour
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cups egg whites
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- ⅔ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp almond extract
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- If there are any bits of yolk in the whites, or any grease in the mixing bowl, the whites will not beat up properly. If the cake pan has any grease, the cake will not rise as well.
- If you don’t invert the cake to cool, it may fall slightly.
