Active Time
30 minutes
Total Time
2 hours plus cooling
Success has many authors, and the classic angel food cake recipe has been credited separately to 19th-century cooks in the American South and German immigrants to St. Louis. Whatever its origin, this airy sponge cake has staying power. The ethereal dessert gets its tender crumb from whipped egg whites, cream of tartar, and cake flour, which is finer and less prone to forming gluten than all-purpose flour. Sifting the cake flour may sound fussy, but it keeps the dry ingredients from clumping and makes it easier to incorporate into the delicate batter. Don’t skip it. The ginger in this cake won’t lend it a gingery flavor, but will bring in a bit of warmth. If you don’t care to use ginger, you could swap it out for ½ tsp. almond extract or cardamom, or simply leave it out.
There’s no butter here, so how you aerate the egg whites is key: Use a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or high-speed hand mixer set over a large bowl to beat foamy egg whites into stiff peaks, taking care not to overmix. Use the leftover egg yolks to make a vanilla custard or fruit curd to serve with the cake.
While it might be tempting to bake your angel food cake in a Bundt pan or as cupcakes, a tube pan with a removable bottom is crucial—but stay away from nonstick. The cake needs traction from the sides of the pan to rise tall and fluffy. To cool, you’ll invert the cake so there’s no chance of it collapsing, then use a long knife to trim the edges away from the pan.
Ingredients
8 servings
Special equipment:
Preparation
Step 1
Place rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 375°F.
Step 2
Put whites and water in a very clean large metal bowl and swirl over simmering water or a gas flame until barely warm. Sift together flour, ¼ cup sugar, and ginger 4 times onto a sheet of wax paper.
Step 3
Beat whites in standing electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. Add vanilla, cream of tartar, and salt. Increase speed to medium-high and beat just until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually beat in remaining cup sugar, 2 Tbsp. at a time, occasionally scraping down side of bowl. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. (Do not overbeat.) Sift one third of flour mixture over whites. Beat on low speed just until blended. Sift and beat in remaining flour in 2 more batches.
Step 4
Gently pour batter into ungreased tube pan and smooth top. Run a rubber spatula or long knife through batter to eliminate any large air bubbles.
Step 5
Bake until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Remove cake from oven and immediately invert pan. (If pan has “legs,” stand it on those. Otherwise, place pan over neck of a bottle.) Cool cake completely, upside down. Turn pan right side up. Run a long, thin knife around outer edge of pan with a smooth (not sawing) motion. Do the same around center tube. Remove outer rim of pan and run knife under bottom of cake to release. Invert to release cake from tube, and invert again onto a serving plate.
Step 6
Serve cake with whipped cream and fruit, if using.
Do ahead: Cake may be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.
Editor’s note: This recipe was first printed in the February 2000 issue of ‘Gourmet.’ Head this way for more of our best cake recipes →
Angel food cake was traditionally torn apart using 2 forks or a many-pronged cake breaker to preserve its prized texture; however, gently sawing with a modern serrated knife also works well.
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Reviews (50)
Back to TopResting on bottle.... my pan does not have legs, but it was given to me by my Grandma G. Lovely golden color. Too hot to eat.... can't wait.
just desserts
Wenatchee, WA
3/31/2022
Beautiful texture and lovely taste. I did not add the ginger.
mdmacd
Halifax, NS
8/5/2017
Fantastic recipe. I have made other angel food cakes and had the most success with this one. I love ginger, but I think I might dial it back next time or possibly use an almond flavouring.
blkcawfee
Prince Edward County, Ontario
1/3/2016
First time making Angel Food cake from scratch and this one turned out perfectly. I used granulated sugar and a bundt pan, and it was still delicious, airy and an excellent treat!
laura_bieselin
Chicago, IL
12/29/2015
Sorry, my review was meant for the other angel food cake recipe listed before this one.
christinefossummd
St. Paul, MN
5/7/2015
I haven't made an angel food from scratch for at least 30 years. But I had 12 egg whites leftover from making 3 key lime pies for a party (also an excellent recipe from this web site). And since this is my all-time favorite cake I took the time. I followed the advice of some other reviewers who claimed it was too sweet and only put in 1 cup of powdered sugar. I also reduced the vanilla to 1/2 teaspoon and instead added 1 teaspoon of almond extract since my childhood memories of angel food had that subtle flavoring. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. The results I thought were perfect. Delightful flavor and very tender crumb--not at all chewy like some. I think the trick in making a great angel food is two-fold. Firs,t using sifted cake flour--the lightness of the cake flour over regular flour and the sifting help give the tenderness. Second, a very light hand in folding. Don't stir the flour in but rather use an "up and over" method and just enough so the dry ingredients blend. I fold so lightly that often I will find a dry spot in the mixture when I'm putting it into the pan. Then i just mix it ever so slightly with whatever is still in the bowl. It only needs to be moistened. Make sure not to over bake (I thought 40 minutes was sufficient) and it should be perfect. And it was.
christinefossummd
St. Paul, MN
5/7/2015
Rave reviews at the dinner party. I did include the ginger- it doesn't make the cake take ginger-y, I think it just adds depth of flavor. I did use cake flour and think that the lighter texture would be important for such an airy cake. I didn't, however, use the superfine sugar. You can make it by whirring it up in a food processor but I was already dirtying every dish in the house for the dinner party and didn't want the extra mess. I split the difference between the "beat in the flour" vs "fold the flour" camps. I added it in several batches and combined it on slow speed, then took it off the mixer and hand folded the rest. The texture came out fine. I also use a specific Angel Food cake pan which helps. They aren't very expensive and I think worth the investment
Quesochica
Bay Area, CA
2/22/2015
This was my first time making an angel food cake. After reading other reviews, I did not add the ginger and I folded the flour in rather then beating it in. It came out excellent! My family loved it. Without a doubt, I will be making this many more times.
pdgem
Barrington, RI
7/5/2014
I've never made ¿¿angel food cake. I have to try to make himself at home this weekend, I have really wanted. -Maria- comprar tablets
mariaauther
es
4/25/2014
I've never made angel food cake before and this one came out like a boss. Nice and moist and spongy. Nothing wrong with this recipe.
pottedmeatchunks
Atlanta, GA
7/26/2013
Excellent recipe. Left out the ginger and followed the recipe exactly, including beating in the flour instead of folding.Cake only took 29 minutes to bake.
Anonymous
New Liskeard
4/12/2012
Ok, so this was my first attempt at angel food cake and although the ginger added quite a nice touch to the recipe, overall I did not win. I am going to guess that it was the lack of cake flour that did me in and that I baked it too long. Mine was well done after 34 minutes when I checked it. Should have check it sooner. Angel food cake won round one, I will win round two.
Anonymous
Raleigh, NC
8/22/2010
The cake rose perfectly, and the texture is just right. I had never made angel food cake before, and feel quite proud. I didn't have cake flour, and substituted two tablespoons of cornstarch to regular flour and sifted three times before beginning. Nor did I have superfine sugar. I processed can sugar in the food processor for about three minutes to create a substitute. I also used a vanilla bean instead of plain vanilla and omitted the ginger and the almond, as we don't like ginger, and I was out of the almond extract. I would add the almond next time. I also wonder if anyone feels it needs more salt?
45parallelchef
Traverse City, MI
3/12/2010
I haven't made this yet, but you can use 4 egg yolks in key lime pie (this site) that's good. I think you can also freeze them but haven't tried that myself yet.
Anonymous
Maryland
7/17/2009
This was my first try to make angel food cake--it was light as a cloud and so refreshing, worth the effort to separate the eggs. Served with fresh strawberries. This will be my classic recipe (no ginger added). Does anyone know what to make with 11 egg yolks?
mockridge
Greenville,SC
4/14/2009
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