Delicious, classic Homemade Angel Food Cake recipe! (2024)

FAQs

What makes angel food cake fluffy? ›

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.

Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the cake. Salt: A little bit of salt balances out the sweetness and enhances the other flavors. Egg Whites: The star of the show! They provide all of the leavening for angel food cake.

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.

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.

Use cream of tartar – cream of tartar is an acid and stabilizes the egg whites. Without cream of tartar, your cake will collapse. Other acidic ingredients aren't quite as strong, so I wouldn't recommend substituting cream of tartar with anything. Sift some of the sugar and flour several times – four to be exact.

Every angel food cake has to be cooled upside down in the pan. Why? Until the cake is completely cooled, its spongy structure hasn't set. Flipping it upside down makes sure it doesn't collapse during that process.

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.

I know what you're thinking. But whatever you do, don't try baking angel food cake in a bundt pan. A bundt pan's design is usually too intricate for angel food cakes, which must be cut away from the simple tube pans they're baked in once the cake has cooled.

Is there vinegar in angel food cake? ›

Some people use a bit of lemon or lime juice or white vinegar to help stabilize the egg whites instead, but I recommend cream of tartar for best results. Flour.

Angel Food Cake is made using egg whites (no yolks) and no fat. Traditional sponge cakes will typically contain both egg whites and egg yolks, as well as fat (usually in the form of butter or oil).

After combining ingredients, do not over mix the batter. Beat until you get a soft peak. If you beat it too much, the egg whites in the mixture will deflate and your cake will be tough.

For starters, cake flour is low-protein (typically 5–8% protein as compared to 10–13% for AP), and that's because it's milled from low-protein (a.k.a. soft) wheat. This means it does not produce as much gluten as regular AP flour and can yield more light, tender results.

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.

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.