Skip to content
The Ultimate Egg
← All Recipes
baking

Angel Food Cake

A cake made with zero fat — no butter, no oil, no egg yolks. Just whipped egg whites, sugar, flour, and vanilla, baked into a towering, cloud-like cylinder. The meringue structure does all the work. You need 12 egg whites (save the yolks for custard or carbonara), and you need to cool the cake upside down so it does not collapse under its own weight.

Prep: 20 min Cook: 40 min Total: 60 min Serves: 12

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Do not grease the tube pan — the batter needs to cling to the sides to rise.

  2. Sift the cake flour with 3/4 cup of the sugar three times. This is tedious but necessary for the lightest possible crumb.

  3. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites with cream of tartar and salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase to medium-high and gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whipping until glossy, stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and almond extract at the end.

  4. Sift one-third of the flour-sugar mixture over the meringue and fold gently with a large spatula. Repeat two more times. The batter should be voluminous and smooth.

  5. Gently pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Run a knife through the batter once to release large air pockets.

  6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and springs back when pressed gently.

  7. Immediately invert the pan (most tube pans have feet for this) and let cool completely upside down, at least 1 hour. If the pan has no feet, invert it over the neck of a bottle.

  8. Run a thin knife around the edges and center tube. Invert onto a plate. Serve plain or with whipped cream and berries.