Baking School In-Depth: Angel Food Cake
Angel food cake, known for its light and airy texture, is believed to have originated in the United States in the early 19th century. Recipes for angel food cake started appearing in American cookbooks around the mid-19th century, with one of the earliest documented recipes found in The Kentucky Housewife by Lettice Bryan, first published in 1839. Its popularity steadily grew throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, firmly establishing it as a beloved dessert.
This cake is distinguished by its fluffy, sponge-like consistency, achieved through whipped egg whites and minimal ingredients—typically no butter or egg yolks. Aptly named for its ethereal quality, angel food cake has become a timeless classic in American desserts, enjoyed for its delicate texture and simplicity.
Be sure to join us for Baking School with Williams Sonoma on Monday, August 12, at 5 p.m. PT. Brian Hart Hoffman and Laura Crandall will take you step-by-step through making our irresistible angel food cake. This is one baking event you won’t want to miss!
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson!
INGREDIENT BREAKDOWN
Excellent recipes require wonderful ingredients. Here’s how our recipes’ ingredients contribute to making the best angel food cake.
BLEACHED CAKE FLOUR:Bleached cake flour helps achieve a light and tender texture while ensuring the cake rises evenly and holds its shape. Unlike all-purpose flour, bleached cake flour has a lower protein content and finer granulation, which is ideal for creating a softer crumb in delicate cakes like angel food cake.
GRANULATED SUGAR:When mixed with the egg whites, sugar creates a smooth and stable foam, contributing to the cake’s light and fluffy texture. Additionally, sugar dissolves in the egg whites, creating a thicker mixture that helps hold air bubbles. These bubbles are essential for leavening, allowing the cake to rise evenly and giving it its characteristic structure. While sweetness is its primary function, granulated sugar also enhances the overall flavor profile of the cake.
EGG WHITES: Egg whites are essential in angel food cake, as they provide structure and help the cake rise without using baking powder, baking soda, butter, or oil. When whipped to medium peaks and gently folded into the batter, these whites create a network of air bubbles. During baking, these bubbles expand, resulting in a wonderfully light and airy texture. Eggs are easier to separate when cold but whip up faster and with more volume at room temperature. Make sure there’s no presence of yolk in your egg whites, as fat inhibits the whites from whipping.
CREAM OF TARTAR: Cream of tartar, an acidic salt, is added to stabilize the egg whites and lower the pH, creating a finer grain, making the cake more tender, and keeping it from shrinking.
KOSHER SALT: Kosher salt is a pure, additive-free salt that dissolves readily and has a crisp, clean taste. It is also flaked rather than granulated, allowing for more even distribution when being whipped into the cake batter.
VANILLA: A cake without vanilla extract lacks a beautiful depth of flavor. Vanilla also adds a lovely aroma to the Vanilla Chantilly Cream in the form of vanilla bean paste.
DUTCH PROCESS COCOA POWDER: Dutch process cocoa powder is treated with an alkaline solution of potassium carbonate to make it milder and less acidic in flavor and darker in color. For the Chocolate Angel Food Cake recipe, we love Dutch process cocoa because it’s slightly less astringent in flavor than natural cocoa powder, so it makes an intense but not bitter-tasting cake.
Vanilla Angel Food Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Vanilla Chantilly Cream
Ingredients
Instructions
Chocolate Angel Food Cake
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Instructions
Notes
Roasted Cherries
Ingredients
Instructions
BRINGING THE BATTER TOGETHER
In a medium bowl, sift together flour and 1 cup (200 grams) sugar.
Sifting the flour and sugar (and cocoa powder for the chocolate version) will remove any lumps from the flour and aerate the mixture.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Slowly add remaining 1 cup (200 grams) sugar. Increase mixer speed to high; immediately add cream of tartar and salt. Add vanilla. Beat until medium-soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a large balloon whisk, gently fold in flour mixture in four additions until just combined. Gently spread batter into an ungreased 10-inch removable- bottom tube pan. Run a knife through batter to remove any large air pockets. Smooth top with a small offset spatula.
Make sure the bowl of your stand mixer is clean and free of any grease. Any type of oil or fat can destabilize the egg whites and prevent them from forming medium peaks. When whipping the egg whites, gradually add the sugar. This allows the sugar to incorporate evenly without overwhelming the meringue, ensuring you achieve the volume needed for the cake. Using an ungreased tube pan allows the cake batter to cling to the sides of the pan as it bakes, helping it rise properly and maintain its tall, airy stature. Avoid pouring all the batter into the pan at once. Instead, gently spoon it in. This prevents the batter from collapsing onto itself and helps trap air, which is crucial for the cake’s light texture.
BAKE, FLIP, AND COOL
Bake until cake is firm to the touch and an instant-read thermometer inserted near center registers 205°F (96°C), 40 to 45 minutes. Immediately invert pan (onto a bottle if needed), and let cool completely.
When your angel food cake is fully baked, look for these signs: It will have an even golden color, a crack may appear in the center ring, and it will spring back when gently pressed in the center. After baking, cool the cake upside down in the pan. This technique prevents the cake from collapsing under its own weight. If your pan doesn’t have prongs to support it, invert it on the narrow neck of a full glass bottle.
Using an offset spatula, loosen cake from sides, center, and bottom of pan.
Once the cake has completely cooled, gently run an offset spatula along the sides of the pan. Remove the sides and carefully run the spatula around the base and along the inner rim to cleanly release the cake from the pan. Serve with our heavenly Vanilla Chantilly Cream alongside fresh peaches, berries, or our divine Roasted Cherries for the perfect summertime dessert.
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