When I was a kid, say 9 or 10, I never wanted it homemade. In our family, there were 6 of us girls, and our Mom made just about all of our clothes. You can only imagine how much time she spent at the sewing machine. The youngest 3 were covered – they usually just got the hand-me-downs. For the three oldest (I was #2), Mom would buy a single pattern, for which she could make 3 different sizes of the same outfit in 3 different fabrics. Can you imagine? We had hand-made, hand-tailored clothes in our favorite colors that fit us perfectly! Why in the world would I have been craving store-bought? (Seriously, why?) This is the same question I ask anyone who is looking for the Best Angel Food Cake. The answer is one my Mom taught me – no store or box is even in the same league as homemade!
Before this cake, I think I had convinced myself that I didn’t even like Angel Food Cake – sticky, sweet, like cotton candy in cake form. Yuck! Just a spoonful of sugar, no other flavor or texture. I think maybe boxed cake mix made me feel that way. But then once when I was looking for something sweet that was on the lighter side, I made a homemade Angel Food Cake. Just one taste and I remembered just how amazingly good Angel Food Cake can be. I mean, there is a reason it is called ANGEL Food, right?
This recipe, with its 6 simple ingredients, produces the tenderest, lightest, fluffiest, but not overly sweet cake you can make. And it is so versatile – perfect plain or amp it up by adding any topping you might want, from berries to lemon curd to ice cream. Or, add any additional flavoring – I added raspberry extract to this recipe, since I was topping the Angel Food Cake with raspberries, and OMG, so so perfect with those fresh berries!
The beauty of this recipe is that it truly is your blank canvas. Or your pattern you can make in several different ways. Simplicity. Enjoy!
Best Angel Food Cake Recipe
This recipe for the Best Angel Food Cake is a bit of a combination of other great recipes. I was inspired by the Best Angel Food Cake from Bon Appetit, as well as Martha Stewart’s Angel Food Cake, which I’ve made several times. I think this one represents the best of both – it has only 6 ingredients,...
- Prep Time: 15m
- Cook Time: 40m
- Total Time: 55m
- Serves: 12
- Yield: 1 Angel Food Cake
- Category: Cakes and Frostings, Desserts and Sweets, Make ahead, Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 12 Large egg whites, at ROOM TEMP
- 1 1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp. Kosher Salt, or 1/2 tsp regular salt
- 1 1/4 c Superfine sugar (Regular granulated is ok, too!)
- 1 c Cake Flour, sifted
- 2 tsp. Natural Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp. Raspberry Extract (OPTIONAL!)
For the Topping:
- 1 pt Heavy cream, whipped
- 2 tbsp. Confectioners' Sugar
- 1 pt Fresh berries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, or 340F for Convection. In a stand mixer, whip egg whites at medium-high, until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and the salt. Continue to whip until the whites have soft peaks. Slowly add the sugar and continue to whip until whites are glossy and have stiff peaks. This means that if you pull out the whipping tool, or insert a knife, the peak of meringue that comes with it will be stiff and pointy, and will remain that way no matter which direction you turn it.
- Once peaks are stiff, add the vanilla extract and if you want, any additional flavoring (I used Raspberry extract here, but almond or lemon would also be delicious!) at low speed until incorporated.
- Remove mixing bowl from stand mixer, and using a large silicon spatula, scrape meringue into a large, wide mixing bowl. Using your fine-mesh sieve or sifter that you used for the cake flour, sift 1/4 of the cake flour at a time into the meringue, folding gently with a large spatula until just incorporated.
- Spoon gently into the tube pan. When the pan is half full, run a knife through the batter to encourage any air pockets to collapse, then continue spooning the batter into the pan. Run the knife once more through the batter to collapse air pockets. Bake 35-40 minutes until cake springs back when lightly touched.
- Cool cake upside down by placing pan upside down on its feet, if it has them, or by inverting the pan and placing the tube part of the pan over a wine bottle and leaving it for an hour. This will prevent this ultralight cake from collapsing as it cools. After cooling, run a knife around the edge of the baked cake, loosen from the pan and release the cake from the bottom of the pan and from the tube with a knife. If serving the next day, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.
- When ready to serve, decorate cake with berries and whipped cream or serve them on the side. Wrap and refrigerate any leftovers.
this looks so fluffy!! one of my favorite books as a kid was one about buttered toast that grew on plants, and the protagonist used it as a bed. i’d use this as a bed ? (it sounds a lot more cushiony plus instant snack ready to go at all times!).
Heather – I wish I knew that book! It sounds like it would’ve been one of my favorites as well! And I do like the bed-snack combo idea! Thanks so much!
Thanks for the recipe. Perfect for Mother’s Day!
You are welcome! Enjoy!