Gluten-free Angel Food Cake
Angel food cake is a light, fluffy, airy cake that pairs well with subtle flavors. Here’s a gluten-free version to make for those with celiac or non-celiac gluten sensitivity!
This recipe was provided by our friends at the Gluten-Free Palate.
Ingredients
Note: substituting ingredients is not recommended with this recipe.
- 1 ¼ cups egg whites (about 9 eggs) at room temperature
- Don’t toss the egg yolks! Use them in a separate recipe, like Hollandaise sauce, crème brûlée, or scrambled eggs
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup 1-to-1 gluten-free flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Optional Additions
Angel food cake is delicious on its own, but it really sings when paired with fresh fruits and whipped cream or frosting. Berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries complement it the best, but feel free to experiment to your taste!
Instructions
- Place the oven rack at the lowest position, then preheat oven to 350°F.
- Separate egg whites from egg yolks. You can buy a tool online that will make this easier, or do it the old fashioned way, by pouring the egg yolk back and forth between the two shell halves above a bowl. The egg whites should gradually fall into the bowl, while the yolk stays contained in the shell. Some chefs prefer to use their hands instead of the egg shell halves to prevent any little bits of shell getting into the batter.
- Set aside the large mixing bowl of egg whites and refrigerate the egg yolks for later!
- Sift powdered sugar and GF flour into a separate mixing bowl and stir together.
- Add cream of tartar, salt, vanilla extract and almond extract to the bowl of egg whites. Beat together (medium speed if using a mixer) until peaks soft form.
- Gradually add granulated sugar (about two Tbsps at a time), beating on high until stiff peaks form.
- Gradually fold in flour mixture, about ½ cup at a time. Don’t mix it too hard, as that can knock the air from the batter, leading to a dense cake that won’t rise.
- Gently spoon the batter into a 10-in. tube pan—don’t pour it in all at once!
- Gently stick a butter knife into the batter to cut through any big air pockets.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and set. Get a cooling rack out and set aside.
- When you remove the pan from the oven, immediately flip it onto a cooling rack. Don’t worry if it doesn’t slide out right away; the cake will shrink and loosen as it cools. Cool completely before removing the pan, about 1 hour.
- If cake hasn’t separated from pan after about an hour, run a rubber spatula between the cake and pan to separate them.
- Serve with cream and berries!
Pro Tips
- You’ll want to use a 10-in tube pan for that classic angel food cake shape. If you don’t have one, you can use a standard rectangular pan (9x13x2 in.) instead.
- Underdone angel food cakes usually collapse, so if you’re unsure about taking it out of the oven, it’s better to leave it in and err on the side of overdone.
- Whip eggs until stiff peaks form, but no further—don’t overbeat them!
- You probably don’t need to grease the cake pan.
- Use a serrated knife to cut the cake instead of a flat-edged knife.
- You can store this cake at room temperature for up to four days, covered.
