There are some foods that are not worth it to make at home, some that are a bit better if you make them at home, and some that once you make them from home you’ll never eat the store bought version again. Angel Food Cake is definitely in the third category – it’s shockingly easy to make and the flavor and texture are so much better it’s almost unfair to compare the store bought and homemade versions. It’s the perfect base for a strawberry short cake, or a tasty treat all on its own!
THE RECIPE
this one is only a few ingredients, but they all matter a whole lot!
- the egg whites – yes, you need 12 egg whites for this recipe! despite that, I highly recomment separating your own eggs rather than using those contianers of egg whites at the store since they often don’t mix up well and the eggs provide all of the lift in this recipe. to make your life easier when separating the eggs, do it when they’re cold!
need a suggestion for what to do with all those egg yolks? I suggest one of my many pudding recipes or even creme brulee! - the sugars – you need both powdered sugar and granulated sugar for this recipe. do not switch them, or just use one, as they play very important parts here! granulated sugar is needed to make the initial meringue, powdered sugar would dissolve too quickly and you wouldn’t get the necessary texture. powdered sugar is combined with the flour because it dissolves so quickly, it’ll easily incorporate into the rest of the mixture
- the cake flour – a key aspect for that lighter than air texture that we’re after!
- the vanilla – while typical vanilla extract works wells here, if you’ve got vanilla bean paste or even a vanilla bean itself it would be beautiful here!
- the cooling method – no, it isn’t a typo in the recipe that you cool this cake upside down! if you were to cool it right side up, the weight of it would cause it to collapse while the inside of the cake is still setting
This one is so fun and so delicious!
Angel Food Cake
There are some foods that are not worth it to make at home, some that are a bit better if you make them at home, and some that once you make them from home you'll never eat the store bought version again. Angel Food Cake is definitely in the third category - it's shockingly easy to make and the flavor and texture are so much better it's almost unfair to compare the store bought and homemade versions. It's the perfect base for a strawberry short cake, or a tasty treat all on its own!
Ingredients
- 12 egg white (see the tips in the post above)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 76 g warm water
- 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 175 g sugar
- 100 g powdered sugar
- 112 g cake flour
Instructions
- prep: preheat the oven to 350*. do NOT grease your angel food cake pan, but make sure it's clean and ready to go.
- make the meringue: in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites, salt, warm water, cream of tartar, and vanilla. using the whisk attachment at medium high speed, whisk until it starts to foam. add in teh granulated sugar 1 spoonful at a time until it's all incorporated. continue to mix until it forms medium peaks
pro tip: you'll know you've reached medium peaks when you pull the whisk out of the mixture, turn it upside down, and you see there's a point that forms but flops over, retaining its shape - add in the dry ingredients: in a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar and cake flour. sift 1/3 of the mixture over the meringue and gently fold it in. sift 1/2 of the remaining dry ingredients over the meringue mixture and gently fold to combine. sift the remaining dry ingredients over the meringue mixture and fold in to combine.
- bake: transfer the batter into the angel food cake pan and bake for about 33-35 minutes or until the top and edges are browned and a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean
- cool and enjoy: flip the cake pan over so that it cools upside down. once fully cool, run a knife around all of the edges to release it from the pan. enjoy!
You are so right, a factory made angel food cake has no resemblance at all to the real thing.
This is my daughter’s favorite cake, her birthday request, and everyone in the family is happy when they see it!
For some reason my comment did not go through. More WP hiccups!
Love this cake, a family favorite and my daughter always requests one for her birthday cake!
Isn’t it amazing?? So glad I finally made it, I’ll never get the store bought kind again!