Using only 6 ingredients, this perfect angel food cake bakes up tall, light, and airy. For best results, follow this recipe and video tutorial closely. The delicate texture can only be 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 about a cake recipe where butter, fat, and egg yolks run away in fright? Meet angel food cake. Angel food cake is a low fat cake recipe made mostly from egg whites, cake flour, and sugar. It’s pristine white on the inside with a chewy light brown crumb around the exterior. What it lacks in butter makes up for in texture. This tall, tender, and timeless cake has a cloud-like crumb and ultra light flavor.
I’ve published angel food cupcakes and a super fun sprinkle angel food cake on my blog, but now it’s time visit where both originate: classic homemade angel food cake!
Angel Food Cake Video Tutorial
Let’s dive right in. First, here’s a video tutorial where I walk you through each step. The steps and ingredients are pretty straightforward, but it’s always helpful to have a clear visual. 🙂
6 Angel Food Cake Ingredients
You only need 6 ingredients to make angel food cake. With so little ingredients, understand that each one is imperative to the cake’s final taste and texture. Here’s the breakdown:
- Granulated Sugar: The recipe begins with granulated sugar. Pulse it in a food processor to create superfine sugar. Superfine sugar’s granules are the best size to provide optimal structure for angel food cake. It’s not as coarse as granulated sugar and not as fine as confectioners’ sugar. Granulated sugar is simply too coarse, while confectioners’ sugar dissolves too quickly in the egg whites.
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is a low protein flour and yields a tender angel food cake. Do not use all-purpose flour because the cake will taste like white bread…! In a pinch, you can use this cake flour substitute. But real cake flour is ideal.
- Salt: Adds flavor.
- Egg Whites: You’ll notice there’s no baking powder or baking soda. 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. You’ll have a lot of leftover egg yolks, so make some lemon curd and serve it with the cake!
- Cream 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 cake would collapse. Other acids, such as lemon juice, can work but they aren’t nearly as effective. Cream of tartar is found in the spice aisle and is actually a common baking ingredient. I have many recipes calling for it!
- Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor.
How to Make Perfect Angel Food Cake
I’m 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 sugar. Use a food processor or blender.
- Set 1 cup of the superfine sugar aside. You’ll add it to the egg whites.
- Add cake flour and salt to food processor. Pulse them with the remaining sugar. This aerates the dry ingredients.
- Beat egg whites and cream of tartar together. Beat on medium-low speed until foamy.
- Slowly add 1 cup of superfine sugar. Turn the mixer up to medium-high and pour in the superfine sugar you set aside.
- Beat into soft peaks. Whip the egg whites, cream 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 ingredients. In 3 additions, sift and fold in the dry ingredients.
- Pour/spread batter into a tube pan. Do not grease the tube pan. Greasing the pan causes the batter to slip down the sides, preventing it from properly rising. If you already greased it, wash and wipe it completely clean.
- Bake at 325°F (163°C). A higher temperature won’t properly cook the cake.
- Cool upside down on a wire rack. If cooled upright, the cake’s own weight will crush itself. Cool it upside-down on a cooling rack so it holds its shape and air can reach it.
- Run a thin knife around the edges to release. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to help loosen the cake, too.
- Slice with a serrated knife. A regular sharp knife squishes the cake.
Can I use a Bundt pan for angel food cake? No, do not use a Bundt pan for angel food cake. You’ll have a very hard time getting it out in one piece. You need a tube pan which has a flat bottom and straight sides. If you don’t have one, I recommend this tube pan. It’s relatively inexpensive for its great quality. Though it’s labeled as nonstick, the coating is VERY thin and has never been an issue for my angel food cakes.
And good news: here’s a helpful trick for how to bake angel food cake without a tube pan.
You need 1 cup (16 Tablespoons) + 2 Tablespoons of cake flour. Sounds like an odd amount, but 18 Tablespoons is the precise quantity to bring enough structure to the cake.
Soft Peaks, Not Stiff Peaks
Remember, 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 because they’ll continue to expand in the oven. Stiff peaks, on the other hand, means that the egg whites have been over-whipped for angel food cake and will likely collapse in the oven.
Important to remember: Don’t let a drop of egg yolks into the mixing bowl. Any lingering fat could prevent the egg whites from forming peaks at all. Crack eggs over an egg separator into a small bowl, then add the whites one-by-one into the mixing bowl. This way if the yolk breaks, it doesn’t break directly 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 volume as possible. Pouring the dry ingredients on top all at once will quickly deflate the egg whites.
The Magic is in the Details
I’ve thrown a lot of information at you in this post, so here’s a quick summary of all the important success tips. Remember that the magic is all in the details.
- Use freshly separated egg whites.
- Pulse granulated sugar into superfine sugar.
- Whip egg whites into soft peaks, not stiff 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
- Food Processor – These range in price. You can use a little ninja, a big food processor, or even 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
Want to make angel food cupcakes? I have you covered.
Angel food cake doesn’t need to hide under frosting, but tastes blissful with fresh berries, raspberry sauce, and/or a dollop of whipped cream! Feel free to dust the top with confectioners’ sugar, too. If you enjoy these flavors together, you’ll love my fresh berry cream cake. (Which, if I’m being honest, isn’t quite as fussy as this cake!)
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 once you go through the process, you’ll understand the preparation isn’t that difficult—it’s just a little picky. 😉 Let’s do this!
See Your Angel Food Cakes!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintAngel Food Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Using only 6 ingredients, this perfect angel food cake bakes up tall, light, and airy. For best results, read the recipe in full before beginning and have all your ingredients ready to go. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar*
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (133g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 large egg whites, at room temperature*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- optional: confectioners’ sugar for dusting, whipped cream, and berries
Instructions
- Adjust 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 set aside to use in step 3; keep the rest inside the food processor. Add the cake flour and salt to the food processor. Pulse 5-10 times until sugar/flour/salt mixture is aerated and light.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium-low until foamy, about 1 minute. Switch to medium-high and slowly add the 1 cup of sugar you set aside. Whip until soft peaks form, about 5-6 minutes. See photo and video above for a visual. Add the vanilla extract, then beat just until incorporated.
- In 3 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 the flour mixture all at once. 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 down 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 tall while baking. Remove from the oven, then cool the cake completely upside-down set on a wire rack, about 3 hours. (Upside-down so the bottom of the tube pan is right-side up, see photo and video above.) Once cooled, run a thin knife around the edges and gently tap the pan on the counter until the cake releases.
- If desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar. Slice the cake with a sharp serrated knife. Regular knives 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: Prepare the angel food cake one day in advance, then cover tightly and store at room temperature overnight. Angel food cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Blender or Food Processor | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Egg Separator | Fine Mesh Sieve | Rubber Spatula | Tube Pan | Cooling Rack
- Sugar: In this recipe, you use granulated sugar and pulse it in a food processor to make superfine sugar. If you have superfine sugar or caster sugar, use that. Pulse 3/4 cup of it with the dry ingredients in step 2. Use 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 volume. With the extra yolks, make lemon curd or some of these recipes.
- Pan: An angel food cake pan (aka tube pan) is imperative. Do not use a Bundt pan. Angel food cake’s structure and stability requires the tube pan’s particular specifications. Some angel food cake pans come with little feet, which makes cooling the cake upside down easy. If your pan has feet, no need to use a wire rack. Whether your tube pan has feet or not, cool the cake upside down as directed in step 5.
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Keywords: angel food cake
This is my very favorite angel food cake recipe. I made 3 cakes and all turned out perfect. They were beautiful, light and fluffy. Thanks for posting this Sally!
★★★★★
It would be nice to at least have an approximate number of minutes it needs to bake!
Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes.
Can I use a loaf pan?
Hi Marissa, we haven’t tried it, but a couple readers have left comments saying the recipe works wonderfully for in 9×5 inch loaf pans.
Hi! I’d love to be able to make this cake for my daughter’s first birthday. Can I make this in a 9×13 pan? If I made this in a 9×13 pan, and cut the cake into round circles to stack on top of each other, would it hold/work?
Hi Danielle, this cake is really best made in a tube pan. For a light 9×13 cake option, you might like this white cake recipe.
Sticky dense fell. Stuck to pan.
★
I made this recipe with fresh eggs from my little chickens and it turned out really great! My daughter lives in Colorado and would like to know how to adjust the recipe for high altitude. Any suggestions?
Hi DeMaria, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
My poor cake was so nice and fluffy going I to my ungreased angel food cake pan but somewhere along the way fell. I made to exact directions. Will try again. Going to take it tonight anyway…hey my friends won’t care what it looks like, the fresh fruit topping will hide the fall and it will taste amazing I’m sure. All the recipes I’ve made from your site are so good so I’m not unhappy.
Hey Sally! I was thinking of making this into a lemon angel food cake by adding lemon zest. How much would you recommend I could add to give good flavor without hurting the structure? Thanks!
Hi Candice! We haven’t tested this recipe with lemon, but you could try replacing half of the vanilla with lemon extract — so half vanilla extract, half lemon extract. Adding a bit of lemon zest (to your taste) with the extracts would be delicious, too. Let us know what you try!
Hello Ms. Sally! I made the Angel Food Cake..but I used a rectangular baking tray and it looks just as on the round baking pan…the height isn’t that much but it’s is alright…your instruction regardingthegrindingvthe sugar more helps the eggwhites to increase more of the volume..and it doesn’t change its peak even when you add the sift flour mixture…I will used it to make crema de fruta as what we called it in our country…I wish I could send some photos of the cake and it’s end product..I really enjoyed doing it..thanks for this great recipe..until then..
First time making this for my family, and it was a HUGE hit! I used a mix of fresh egg whites and egg whites I’d frozen from previously made creme brulees, and it was fantastic!
★★★★★
Hi, would this recipe work for a number cake? I’m making a number 30 cake for a friend this week and this looks like such a lovely cake recipe. But I’m worried it may not work in the number cake tins or would collapse if layered and decorated with whipped cream, fruit and meringue? Many thanks
Hi Pippa, this may not be the best option, since it really relies on the shape of the tube pan to bake properly. You might like using our vanilla sheet cake instead.
I followed this recipe to the tea did not rise. I turned the cake pan upside down in the cake fell out the taste is there, but it’s no near where angel food cake should be. I don’t know what I did wrong please help.
Hi Barbara, We’re happy to help troubleshoot. Was your pan nonstick? For angel food cake, its best to not use a nonstick pan, or one with very light nonstick coating like the one we link to in this post. We want the cake to cling to the side of the pan to rise and not fall out once inverted. It’s also important not to grease the pan, as you need the batter to cling to the sides of the pan as it’s rising. By greasing the pan, the light batter will not rise. Hope this helps for next time!
Hey trying this for the first time. Is there a way to make it less sweet ?? Overall turned out well, but very sweet.
Hi Lisa! The sugar is a big part of the cake’s structure and we don’t recommend reducing it. Some less sweet toppings can help add balance!
I bought the tube pan from your link, and I’m struggling to keep the cake sticking to the pan once inverted. It falls out within minutes. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Jess! Did you grease your pan by chance? Be sure to pour and spread batter into an ungreased tube pan. You can try placing the wire rack on the cake before inverting to cool, so it doesn’t fall out. Hope this helps for next time!
I followed instruction using a tub angel food cake pan and my cake fell out immediately. The pan has a later stuck to it. Should it cool a but before inverting?
Hi Tammie, make sure you aren’t deflating those egg whites at all during the mixing process. Use superfine sugar and fold the dry ingredients in in 3 separate additions. Under-baking could also be the culprit. It’s also very important not to grease the pan. We hope all of this can help for next time!
Hello, can you use mini angel food cake pans with this recipe?
Hi Emma, we haven’t personally tested it, but if they are shaped like a traditional tube pan, we imagine that should work fine. Let us know if you give it a try!
I loved this recipe so much!
What if I cannot get cream of tartar? Or actual cake flour? ( live in a very small town…)Any suggestions?
Hi Jenny, In a pinch, you can use this cake flour substitute. But real cake flour is ideal–can you order it online by chance? Cream of tartar is an acid and stabilizes the whipped egg whites in this recipe. You can make a 1:1 substitution with lemon juice but keep in mind it’s not nearly as effective.
I’m going to see about ordering some King Arthur cake flour online. I live in a small town too and drove about an hour to the “big city” where there are more stores and they all have one brand and it smells funny. It may just be that that is how cake flour smells. But, I want to order a brand I know and see.
I need to make this into a two layer birthday cake so I would cut the cake in half after cooling. Could I use your raspberry cake filling in between the layers? Would a dam of whipped cream work? Thoughts?
Hi Rita, you could assemble a layered cake from this baked and cooled angel food cake (baked in a traditional tube pan). Use a serrated knife to cut into layers and fill with whipped cream.
This is my go to angel food cake recipe. Have made at least a dozen times. I use duck egg whites with excellent results. Sometimes I use almond extract for a flavorful addition (1/2 tsp) and the vanilla. Thank you
★★★★★
I absolutely love this cake. The recipe is so easy to make. I only make this recipe for angel food cake. Comes out perfect!
★★★★★