Angel food cake is so simple, but the specific ingredients and equipment matter. Yes, you do have to use a tube pan and cake flour, and yes, you do need to sift the dry ingredients and cool the pan upside down. But it all pays off in this cloud-like cake with just the right amount of sweetness. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.
Recipe information
Yield
10 servings
Ingredients
1
⅔
1¾
1½
1
⅔
2
2
Special Equipment
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325°. Whisk flour and powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
Step 2
Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-low speed to break up egg whites, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until whites are very foamy and barely form soft peaks, about 45 seconds longer. Gradually add granulated sugar and continue to beat on medium-high speed until whites are firm and glossy and hold stiff peaks (if you overbeat, the meringue will look dry, grainy, and curdled). Beat in lemon juice and vanilla.
Step 3
Remove bowl from mixer. Sift one-third of dry ingredients over meringue. Return bowl to mixer and beat on low speed until incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer again and repeat sifting and mixing process 2 more times. Remove bowl again and fold batter several times with a large flexible spatula, scraping and lifting batter from the bottom to make sure all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Step 4
Scrape about half of batter into ungreased tube pan. Using a spoon or small offset spatula, push batter around bottom of pan, into corners, and up sides and center tube (this helps form smooth sides and eliminate air pockets); it’s okay if batter forms a little bit of a trough, with the center at a lower level than the outer edges. Scrape remaining batter into pan, spreading evenly and smoothing top.
Step 5
Bake cake until top is puffed, split, golden, and springs back firmly when touched and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35–40 minutes. Immediately invert pan, placing hollow part of tube over a long-necked wine or other glass bottle to elevate it (if your pan has feet, simply rest upside-down on feet). Let cool at least 1 hour, then turn right side up. The upside-down cooling is key for a cake that doesn’t deflate and sink onto itself. Using a thin metal spatula, cut around sides and loosen cake. Pull on tube to release cake from pan, then cut around tube. Using thin metal spatula, loosen cake from bottom. Invert cake onto a plate or cake stand and remove bottom. Serve with berries and whipped cream.
Step 6
Do Ahead: Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.
Leave a Review
Reviews (27)
Back to Topin grammes please !!! I begging
Anonymous
france
7/25/2019
I followed the recipe and the video to a tee and on my last batch of sifting in the dry ingredients the egg whites turned entirely back to liquid. Why did this happen? I can't find any answers on the internet.
Anonymous
Los Angeles
8/11/2019
Came out PERFECTLY. Honestly the video with Claire demonstrating helped so much ESPECIALLY with the whole bird beak tip to gauge when the egg whites were whipped at the right time. 10/10.
jlrentcome
Houston, TX
8/19/2019
Excellent cake! I followed this step by step and read everything and it turned out perfectly! I made it a second time and both were great!
Sara Fitzgerald
Iowa
8/19/2019
The airiness is fantastic. I added 30% less sugar and it still turned out great.
Hong Kong
3/21/2020
this was an awesome recipe it turned out great even though it was my first time making angel food cake but the recipe was not correct about how long to beat the eggs.
Anonymous
Montana
3/31/2020
Yes yes yes. Made this cake for a friends wedding and it was a hit! Highly recommend checking out the video if it’s your first time making an angel food cake, like it was for me. It’s helpful to see the stages at which Claire stops whipping the eggs and adds the flour, how quickly she adds it, etc. I mashed up some berries and combined it with the whipped cream to give it a little extra sweetness, give that a try! Like Claire says, this cake seems intimidating but if you have a stand mixer, it’s so easy to make!
Anonymous
California
4/15/2020