In this Instructable, I will show you how to make Angel Food Cake at home. This easy homemade Angel Food Cake recipe is so amazing and one of my favorite if not my favorite cakes to make and eat. Don't be intimidated by making Angle Food Cake from scratch, you only need 6 ingredients, with an optional 7th, and the steps to make it are pretty straight forward. I pretty much have this cake every year for my birthday, with whipped cream and strawberries, so yummy! If I can do it, you can do it. Let's get baking!

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Follow the easy steps below or watch the video tutorial or do both. :)

Step 1: Ingredients and Tools

You can print the recipe here if you like.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups of granulated sugar or fine sugar (350g)
1/4 tsp salt (1g)
1 cup of cake flour (115g)
1 1/2 cups of room temperature egg whites (about 10 to 12 large eggs) (approx. 350ml)
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar (5g)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (5ml)
1/4 tsp. almond or orange extract (1ml)
Fruit for toppings, whipped cream, etc.

Tools:

Tube Cake/Angel Food Cake Pan
Food processor
Spatula
Cake spatulas
Hand or Stand mixer
Spoon
Glass

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Step 2: Super Fine Sugar

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 F/176 C.

Add the sugar to a food processor. Pulse and blend for about a minute to produce a super fine/caster sugar, but don't blend it until it is like powdered sugar.

Pour about a cup of it into a measuring cup and set that cup aside for later.

Step 3: Finish the Dry Ingredients

Now add the salt and the cake flour to the remaining sugar in the food processor. Blend for 20 to 30 seconds. This makes the dry ingredients light and ensures no lumps.

Note: If you can't find cake flour, you can use all-purpose flour, but cake flour is definitely the best to use for this particular cake.

Step 4: Mix Those Egg Whites

Measure 1 1/2 cups of egg whites. Just crack the egg, transfer the yolk back and forth from the shells allowing the egg white to fall into the measuring cup. Or some people crack the egg into a bowl and use clean hands to remove the egg white.

IMPORTANT: Make sure no egg yolk gets into the egg whites.

Use a hand mixer or stand mixer and beat the egg whites until frothy. Then add in the cream of tartar and the extracts. The vanilla is essential, but the almond or orange extract is optional. The cake will still turn out without any extract, but the vanilla adds lots of flavor to the cake.

Mix until the egg whites double or triple in volume but are not quite at the soft peak stage.

Step 5: Soft Peaks and Sugar

Now continue beating the egg whites until soft peaks are formed. While beating the egg whites add the cup of sugar about a tablespoon at a time allow it to mix in before adding the next tablespoon. You can also pour in a little bit at a time from the measuring cup instead of using a spoon.

When you pull up the beaters, a peak should form and then curl over a little bit. Those are soft peaks.

A good test is to take a pinch of the batter and rub it in between clean hands and if you don't feel any gritty sugar, that is great.

Step 6: Fold in the Flour Mixture

Now, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and fold it into the egg whites with a spatula. Do not stir, just keep folding the batter in on itself until there is no dry flour left. Then repeat with the next third, etc. Until the flour mixture is all incorporated. And there you go, the Angel Food Cake batter is complete.

Step 7: Tube Pan/Angel Food Cake Pan

Now add the batter to an ungreased Angel Food Cake/Tube Cake pan. Make sure it is ungreased! Don't spray it or anything. I know that is odd, since you are probably used to spraying or greasing cake pans. But for this cake, you don't do that.

Spread out the top with a spatula, and then take a butter knife and run it through the batter in circles and zigzags to help it settle and break up any large air pockets.

The cake is ready to be baked.

Step 8: Bake the Cake

Place the cake in the oven, middle rack position, and bake it for 35 to 45 minutes, until a bamboo skewer comes out clean. It will be nice and golden brown on top, and probably have cracks, which is completely normal.

Now this will seem weird probably, but this particular cake needs to cool upside down. Otherwise, it will probably collapse.

When the cake comes out of the oven use oven mitts and flip the cake over and set the middle part on a flipped over glass. It will balance fine on it. Allow the cake to cool for 1 to 2 hours.

Step 9: Remove the Cake

Once the cake has cooled it can be removed from the pan. Run a cake spatula, butter knife, or something along the edge of the cake all around. Then do the same with the inside part of the cake. Push the cake up from the bottom, if that middle piece separates, which they often do. Then run the knife or spatula underneath the cake to loosen it.

Flip the cake over onto a cake pedestal or plate or cake board, and you are done. Awesome!

Step 10: Serve That Cake

Now use a bread knife or other serrated knife and serve up a slice or two or three. Serve it with berries, whipped cream, etc. This strawberry sauce goes really well with it. Enjoy!

Store it in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap for a few days at room temperature or about a week in the fridge. It can also be frozen for 4 to 5 months.

Print the recipe here if you like.