Angel food cake is a “heavenly” treat for those who want to indulge their sweet tooth, but don’t want to be weighed down with a lot of fat. This cake characterized by its high and fluffy texture – which is a result of what it doesn’t have: No butter or any added fat at all, no egg yolks, and no leavening agent except egg whites.
A Finicky Cake, But Worth the Effort
You’ll notice that this recipe requires kid-glove treatment, particularly once you add together the beaten egg whites and flour mixture. Remember not to over mix at this stage.
You need to remember that fat – of any kind – is an enemy of this cake and can cause it to collapse. Watch out for any accidental addition of egg yolks (which contain fat). Make sure you don’t have any leftover grease (or detergent for that matter) on any of the utensils or baking pans.
Angel food cake is best baked in a tube pan with a removable bottom. Using a Bundt pan is okay, but may be harder to remove. Whatever type of pan you use, remember, do not grease it.
Some recipes call for confectioners or powdered sugar, but you’ll get better “high and light” results by using “superfine” sugar. If you can’t find this in your grocery, process regular sugar in a blender or food processor for about a minute.
A finicky cake? Yes. But definitely worth the effort if you want a light, fat-free and absolutely angelic-tasting dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached cake flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ superfine sugar
- 12 egg whites*
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Note: To make spice-flavored angel food cake add 1 teaspoon of your favorite spice (nutmeg, cardamom or cinnamon works well) to flour mixture. For lemon flavor cake, omit almond extract and replace water with 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice then add 2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest to the flour mix.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the tube pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper. Do not grease the pan.
- In a small bowl sift together the flour, salt, and ½ cup of sugar.
- In a large bowl beat egg whites with electric beater for 1 minute on low speed. Increase the speed and continue beating until foamy. Add cream of tartar and water and mix until the egg whites are foamy but not yet forming peaks when the beaters are lifted out of the mix. Continue beating on medium and slowly add the remaining cup of sugar, one tablespoon at a time. After all the sugar has been added, the egg whites should be glossy. Gently add the vanilla and almond extracts by hand, gently stirring.
- Sift flour mixture again over the egg whites, ¼ cup at a time. Very gently – with a wooden spoon – fold the flour into the egg whites until just combined. Mixture will be lumpy, but do not stir or beat – just gently fold.
- Pour batter into un-greased cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. until the top is golden brown and springs back when touched (about 40 – 45 minutes).
- Turn upside down, but do not remove from the pan. Cool for about 1-2 hours. Use a knife to loosen the sides.
*Don’t let all the egg yolks go to waste; click here for recipe ideas for leftover egg yolks.
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