Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake Recipe

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Angel food cake can be a great dairy-free treat as it is one of the few traditional cakes that uses neither butter nor milk. Find a dairy-free option for whipped cream or just savor the sweet sponge cake alone or with strawberries on top.

Photo by Kelli and Peter Bronski

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Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Kelli and Peter Bronski is a thoughtful and comprehensive guide to anyone starting off on their gluten-free journey.

Cover by Susi Oberhelman

Makes 12 to 16 servings SERVINGS

Ingredients

Angel Food Cake

1-1/2 cups egg whites at room temperature (10 to 12 eggs)
2 teaspoons GF vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon GF almond extract
1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups (180 grams) sifted confectioners' sugar
1 cup (110 grams) sifted Artisan GF Flour Blend
1-1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

Homemade Whipped Cream

1/2 pint (1 cup) heavy cream
1 to 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, depending upon taste for sweetness
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
1 quart strawberries, sliced

Directions

To make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Whip the egg whites, vanilla, almond extract, cream of tartar, and salt in a mixer using the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the granulated sugar a little at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Do not under-mix (make sure your peaks are stiff!).
Sift together the confectioners’ sugar, flour, and xanthan gum. Carefully fold the flour mixture into the egg whites just until all the flour is mixed in.
Pour the batter into a 10-inch angel food cake pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven, until browned and dry in the cracks that form on top. Immediately invert the cake to cool thoroughly upside down.

To make the whipped cream:

Chill a mixing bowl and a whisk or egg beaters in the freezer for 5 minutes. Pour the cream into the cold bowl. Whip the cream until it starts to thicken. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and whip until soft peaks form.
Once cooled, loosen the cake from the sides and bottom of the pan and remove it to a serving plate. Serve with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Angel food cake is one of the only cakes that is baked in an unprepped (ungreased) pan. There’s an important reason for that. Angel food cakes are allowed to cool upside down, which enables the cake to maintain its “loft” until it is fully cooled. The ungreased pan allows the angel food cake to stick to the sides and bottom of the pan so that it doesn’t fall out (as it would with a greased pan) when you invert the cake to cool. Also, this recipe calls specifically for an angel food cake pan, which is a type of tube pan. Tube pans are typically circular, with a “tube” in the middle that results in the finished cake having the shape of a donut, with a hole in the middle. Some, such as Bundt pans, are 1-piece tube pans, and often have fluting or other decoration. Others, such as the angel food cake pan, are two-piece tube pans, which allow you to cut the cake away from the sides of the pan first, then remove the outside of the pan, and finish cutting the cake away from the base of the pan.

More from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking:

Recipe excerpted from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking, Second Edition © Kelli and Peter Bronski, 2009, 2012. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.

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Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking (The Experiment, 2012), by Kelli and Peter Bronski, brings flavor to the table of those suffering from gluten sensitivities. The book implements simple baking, cooking, and preparation methods while covering a wide range of recipes including all meals, snacks, and desserts. The Bronskis have dealt with celiac disease in their own home and have been developing their gluten-free recipes for over ten years. The following excerpt is a recipe for angel food cake and homemade whipped topping. It incorporates an Artisan Gluten-Free Flour Blend that you can easily make at home.

Most people we know buy their angel food cakes from the bakery or supermarket. That’s not an option if you’re gluten-free (GF angel food cakes are pretty rare). But that’s also not a loss. This GF angel food cake is as good as any we’ve had, gluten-free or otherwise. It’s light and fluffy and, as great angel food cakes are, very sweet.