We all need a go-to angel food cake that doesn’t come out of a box. Here’s yours. You will need attention to the details, an angel food pan, and a wine bottle (yes, a wine bottle) for this cake.
The Details
- Preheat your oven.
- Use fresh egg whites not the ones from a carton. Left over egg yolks can be refrigerated and used for Hollandaise Sauce or Vanilla Pudding.
- Whip your egg whites like you mean it but not too fast cuz reaching stiff peaks is important; but, you want them to be stable.
- Sift your flour to prevent lady lumps in your cake.
- Unlike most cake recipes, do not coat your cake pan.
- There’s an oven temp change part way through baking so be on the ball.
Angel Food Cake
Serves 12-16.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
- 2 cups egg whites (from about 16 eggs). room temperature
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon almond emulsion or extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 cups cake flour, sifted
Place egg whites, cream of tarter, vanilla, almond, and salt in a mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whip at medium speed until stiff peaks form.
Add the sugar 1/4 cup at a time while continuing to whisk. Egg mixture will be shiny and smooth.
Sprinkle the flour into the egg mixture. Gently fold the flour in by bringing your spatula around the top to the bottom and then through the middle of the batter. Continue this until the flour is completely mixed in. The purpose of folding is to mix the flour in while maintaining the airiness you’ve accomplished.
Use your spatula to place about a cup of the batter into your angel food cake pan at a time until all of it has been transferred over. Pull the spatula through the batter gently to help deplete any possible large air bubbles and then use it to smooth out the top of the batter so it is even.
Place your cake into the preheated oven. Let it bake for 25 minutes. Then turn the heat up to 350°F and bake for another half an hour. The cake should bounce back when touched lightly or a fork poked into the center comes out clean when it is done.
Taking care not to burn yourself, place the cake pan upside down onto the top of a wine bottle and allow it to cool for about an hour.
After your cake has cooled, remove it from the bottle, turn it right side up again, go along the inside and outside edges with a knife, and then flip it onto a cake plate to cut and serve.
Angel food cake is lovely served with Whipped Cream and fresh fruit like berries or sliced peaches, Mixed Berry Sauce, or frosting.