Angel Food Cake Light (Printable)

Light and airy cake crafted with whipped egg whites and delicate flavors.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 1 cup sifted cake flour
02 - 1½ cups granulated sugar, divided
03 - ¼ teaspoon fine salt

→ Egg Mixture

04 - 12 large egg whites, at room temperature
05 - 1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
06 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
07 - ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)

# How To Make:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Ensure the ungreased 10-inch angel food cake tube pan is clean and dry.
02 - Sift together cake flour, ¾ cup of sugar, and salt in a bowl. Repeat sifting three times to incorporate air. Set aside.
03 - Using a stand or hand mixer, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.
04 - Gradually add remaining ¾ cup sugar in small increments while continuing to beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Gently mix in vanilla and almond extracts.
05 - Sift the flour mixture over the whipped egg whites in three additions, folding gently with a spatula after each until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
06 - Spoon the batter evenly into the ungreased tube pan. Smooth the surface with a spatula and run a knife through the batter to eliminate large air pockets.
07 - Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until golden and the top springs back when lightly touched.
08 - Immediately invert the pan onto a bottle or wire rack to cool completely upside down, about 1 to 2 hours.
09 - When cool, run a thin knife around the pan edges to loosen and release the cake.
10 - Serve plain or accompanied by fresh berries and whipped cream as desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's impossibly light and airy, the kind of cake that feels like eating flavored cloud.
  • Made with just egg whites and sugar, it's a celebration of simplicity that somehow tastes more elegant than cakes loaded with butter.
  • Room to play with fresh fruit and toppings, so it feels new every time you make it.
02 -
  • One drop of egg yolk will sabotage the whole thing; your egg whites won't whip properly, and you'll end up with something closer to pound cake, which defeats the whole purpose.
  • The ungreased pan is not a mistake in the recipe; it's the secret. Grease makes the batter slip, and it won't rise the way it's meant to.
  • Don't skip the multiple siftings; they're not just tradition, they're what makes the flour light enough to fold without deflating all your careful whipping.
03 -
  • If you don't have cake flour, measure all-purpose flour, remove two tablespoons, and replace them with cornstarch for a lighter crumb.
  • A stand mixer does this job beautifully, but a hand mixer works too, just with more arm work and patience.
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