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 dessert 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 on my blog, but now it’s time visit where they 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. 🙂
Print
Angel 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 | Silicone 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.
- Party Angel Food Cake: Turn this cake into a party by gently folding in 1/2 cup of rainbow sprinkles before pouring and spreading the batter into the tube pan. Once cake is ready to serve, skip the confectioners’ sugar and top with chocolate ganache and more sprinkles.
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Reader Comments and Reviews
This is the best Angel Food Cake recipe ever. Just follow the instructions to a tee and you will be in Angel food cake heaven.
I made this recipe last night with the left over egg whites from making egg noodles! It turned out perfectly! I also followed Sally’s cake flour recipe and was also very happy with it.
I wish I could share a picture it turned out so good
Hi! Can this be made into a sheet cake?
Hi Isabelle! An angel food cake pan (aka tube pan) is imperative for this recipe. Here are all of our single layer (sheet cake) recipes!
I made this cake for a friends birthday and had never baked an Angel food cake before. I was nervous about the egg whites, that I had over whipped them, but…the cake was delicious! I took the cake out of the pan as soon as it felt cool to the touch, rather than waiting 3 hours. Everyone thought it was beautiful and delicious. The birthday girl was very pleased. I used a nonstick two piece tube pan, borrowed from a neighbor. I would definitely make this again. Thanks for a great recipe with easy to follow directions. Video was also a big help.
I’ve made angel food cake several times before, but this yielded, by far, the tallest, prettiest, and lightest and best-textured cake ever!! I did split the extract, 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 almond (3/4 tsp each) to achieve the angel food flavor profile I’m accustomed to. I also used powdered egg whites (3/4 c powder to 2-1/4 c water). But other than the extract and powdered egg whites, I precisely followed the recipe & recommendations. It turned out, well, heavenly. I served slices with a dollop of Fage plain yogurt and fresh blue-, rasp-, and blackberries. Exactly the not-terribly-unhealthy dessert I was looking for!
Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!! This will be my new go-to recipe for angel food cake.
Amazing recipe but I found it to be too sweet, would recommend 3/4 the sugar
Super easy to follow and amazing turn out! Will definitely be using this recipe again.
Hello Sally, I am going to make this cake and I was wondering would it be ok to use sugar substitute or half spoon sugar? Thank you!
Hi Georgette, We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes. Thank you!
I’m just wondering about how long this might take me and how long it should be around. Does anyone know?
Hi Ollie, If you look at the top of the recipe card (right under the recipe name) you will find the prep time, cook time, and total time for all of our recipes. Hope this helps!
I made this recipe with 1/2 a cup less sugar (1.25 c) and it was great! In case anyone else is looking for a lower sugar recipe. I think 1 c might be sufficient for folks who don’t mind things a little less sweet…
My first attempt had some problems and I’m not sure what happened! 🙁
I have odd clumps in the finished cake. The mix didn’t appear to have clumps when I poured it into the pan. They look almost like crystallize sugar maybe. What did I do wrong?!? I’m so sad it didn’t work.
Hi Anna, Thank you for trying this recipe. It sounds like it simply wasn’t mixed enough. After you whip your eggs, did you slowly sift the flour mixture into the egg white mixture, gently folding with a rubber spatula after each addition? If you try again, be sure to go slow so that it doesn’t deflate, but do mix it thoroughly.
Hello,
Just wondering – what does the asterisk ‘*’ stand for next to the sugar and the egg in the recipe ingredients?
Thank you
Hi Peter, The asterisk means that we have an additional helpful note about that particular ingredient. If you scroll down past the recipe directions you will see a section called “Notes.” Happy baking!
Can you tell me the nutritional value?
Hi Ferryl, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients, and many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients. However, there are many great online calculators where you can plug in your exact ingredients like this one: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Hi Sally! I love your site. Please tell me how to adjust the dry measurements to make this a chocolate angel food cake. How much cocoa powder and how to reduce the cake flour. Thanks! Can’t wait to make this as a birthday cake for my hubby who doesn’t eat eggs.
Hi Deb, we haven’t tested a chocolate angel food cake. If you try it, let us know how it goes!
does anyone know if i can use liquid egg whites (the kind you buy in a milk-type carton) for this?
Hi Briana! We recommend fresh egg whites for best results.
This is my husbands favorite cake for his birthday and this recipe is perfect! I thought I didn’t like angel food cake until I started making this recipe!
Excited to try this recipe, but all I have is a bundt pan. Will that work for this recipe?
Hi Madelyn, You need a tube pan for this recipe, not a Bundt pan. We link to the tube pan we use in the post above. If you don’t have a tube pan this is a great hack.
Or you can make Angel Food Cupcakes instead.
Could I use almond flour rather than cake flour? I need a gluten-free flour and would love to hear if you think that will work.
Hi Natalie, we haven’t tested a gluten-free version of this cake. If you do, we’d love to know how it turns out for you!
I would say I’m a decent baker. My cake turned out dense, not soft and fluffy at all. After googling I’m guessing somehow I managed to overmix the eggwhites? They looked like a good texture though like the video so not sure how I managed this. Unsure now whether I should reattempt this recipe or not :/
Over or under-whipping the eggs will lead to a dense angel food cake. We hope you’ll give it another try!
Hi!
Can I use store bought egg whites (in a container) instead of separating the eggs?
Thanks,
Karen
Hi Karen, Carton egg whites don’t whip up to nearly the same volume. You can try to use them, but the results will differ from the intended texture and pictured cake. See recipe notes for details on egg whites. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Thanks for the quick reply. I will make some custard to use up the yolks 🙂
Everything seemed to work perfectly, and the cake rose in the oven nicely, but then when it cooled upside down, it collapsed into itself. So it tastes nice but is quite a dense texture. Any ideas what might have happened? I did leave it to cool for a long time upside down, could it have needed to be taken out of the pan earlier?
Hi Julia, angel food cake can collapse if the egg whites were over-whipped. Only whip until soft peaks form before adding the vanilla and then the dry ingredients. When folding in the dry ingredients, do so very slowly and in stages as the recipe suggests. Folding in the dry ingredients quickly or all at once can cause the cake to lose volume and deflate. And yes, if you try the recipe again, you could also try removing the cake from the pan earlier.
Hi There! I am so excited to get a chance to make this recipe, the rave reviews are very encouraging. One question, can I use baker’s sugar, which is finer than regular granulated sugar and less fine than powdered? I would love to save the blending sugar step if possible:)
That should be just fine!
Thank you for the detailed recipe! I am sure it was your tips that resulted in a light and tasty angel food cake that looked just like the photo (the first time that has happened:)).
Your elaboration of each ingredient helps so much in understanding how your recipes come together to taste their best. It helps people like me who are learning to cook. Thank you! I do have one question. What if you used lemon juice as well as cream of tartar?
Hi Tamera, we haven’t tried this recipe with lemon juice, but you can try replacing some (not all) of the vanilla extract with lemon juice/extract for a lemony cake. You could do a 1:1 substitution of lemon juice for the cream of tartar, but keep in mind that it is not as effective. Let us know what you try!
Hi Sally! Can I pulse the sugar in my blender? My food processor broke a few days ago.
Hi Grace, a blender will work just fine in place of a food processor.
Hi Sally, I love to bake. This recipe if followed to a “t” will come out perfect. I made it for the first time for a dinner party. I added a light compote of berries and whipped cream it was great. I had one slice left. Thanks!
Followed the recipe to a T and this was DELICIOUS! I always thought I didn’t like angel food cake until I tasted this one. One question – I let it rest upside down in the pan for 3 hours like the recipe stated, however, the nice brown “crust” stuck to the pan. So it was basically just white on the outside. Obviously didn’t impact the taste, just not at pretty as Sally’s! Any thoughts on this??
I’m so glad that you loved this recipe, Jamie! Was the pan you used nonstick?
I’ve been reading that nonstick is essential for Angel food cake baking… so it will rise and grab to the sides. Have you backed fluffy angel food cakes in nonstick 2 part Aluminum tube pans?
As usual, Sally’s Baking Addiction, you NAILED IT! I’ve never made angel food cake before and this came out perfect. Thank you! Please keep doing what you do. Your recipes are THE BEST!
Hi, Sally! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I was wondering if I could use 6×2 aluminum round pans for this recipe. The bottom part is not detachable though. And can I use the blender instead of the food processor since we don’t have one? Thank you so much!
Hi Eunice, an angel food cake pan (aka tube pan) is imperative – see recipe notes for more details. You may love these angel food cupcakes instead — but even there, we recommend the cupcake pans rather than cake pans (as we fear they won’t rise the same). A blender will work in place of a food processor.
My husband is on a no fat diet for a complication following surgery and is allowed to have angel food cake and fruit. We have carton egg whites so, I used them. They whipped up beautifully – just like your video! I just took it out of the oven and it’s so pretty! I am concerned about my two piece tube cake pan crushing the cake while it’s cooling but, it is non- stick. I will let you know! So far, so good!
I made this cake 10/9/21 for a coworker’s birthday and it was a HIT. I followed the instructions completely and if it weren’t for the video being included, I would have messed up big time but it came together beautifully with some strawberries and blueberries along with some homemade strawberry whipped frosting (your other recipe for strawberry whipped frosting I believe). This cake was not dense, the texture was perfect and was even told it looked almost like a store bought cake but tasted much better than that. Definitely making this again in the future, thanks again for the awesome recipe!
We’re so happy to read this Alicia – thank you so much for giving our recipe a try!
Hi Ana! You can read more about measuring baking ingredients in this post.