This homemade Angel Food Cake is perfection. Light, moist, airy, and absolutely delicious! If you love angel food, don’t miss my Coconut Angel Food Cake and Coconut Angel Food Cupcakes!
Angel Food Cake
When you are making homemade Angel Food Cake it’s important to be aware of two things. It uses a lot of eggs. Scratch that. It uses a lot of egg WHITES. Read the recipe before you start.
#panfail #cakefail #bakerfail
Now, if I could go back in time I would have definitely given MYSELF that advice. But, I was halfway through my recipe before I realized that I did not own an angel food pan.
Improvising angel food cake in a fancy bundt pan is NOT A GOOD IDEA.
It is a BAD idea.
It is a terrible idea.
This is what happens when you make angel food cake in a fancy bundt pan that you have to spread GOOP in so that the cake doesn’t stick but the cake is supposed to stick and therefore the cake cannot properly set up and it falls and flattens itself into a 1-inch high disc of not-bad tasting but horribly disfigured angel food cake.
So I drove to the store and bought a pan.
That was the best decision I made all day.
Well, that and the roasted strawberries. I mean, who knew roasted strawberries would be SO amazing?!?
Angel Food Cake Recipe
The most COMMON MISTAKE in baking angel food cakes is to not weigh the eggs. It is important to measure or weigh your egg whites for this recipe! Eggs can vary so greatly in size that it could be disastrous if you simply use 12 egg whites.
Room temperature ingredients are a must! We have very fresh eggs (sometimes laid that very day!) and because they are so fresh they separate very well. If you don’t have chickens, you may want to separate the eggs right out of the refrigerator and then allow the whites to come to room temperature. Separating when cooler will help you avoid broken yolks.
When whipping eggs make sure your bowl is clean and cool. Try not to overbeat! Stiff glossy peaks are the key phrase and what to look for in your eggs.
If you are baking this cake at a higher altitude, be sure to check out my High Altitude Baking Tips.
If you want a smooth strawberry sauce, simply place the roasted strawberries into a blender or food processor until you reach the desired consistency. If you do this you may not need to add the strawberry spread. Just keep an eye on it.
This is before and after roasting the strawberries. I highly recommend doing this! My house smelled like heaven for 6 hours after I removed them from the oven!
This Angel Food Cake Recipe with Roasted Strawberries lasted all of one day in our house. It tastes better than any store-bought angel food cake, which is saying a lot for a kid who was raised on the store-bought stuff.
I declare it the perfect angel food cake!
Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
Angel Food Cake
- 1 ¼ cups (125 g)sifted cake flour
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated white sugar, divided
- 1 ½ cups (360 g) egg whites at room temperature (from about 12 large eggs)
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
Roasted Strawberries
- 2 cups (250 g) sliced fresh strawberries
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 10 ounces strawberry spread, or jam/jelly preserves
- Cool Whip, optional
Instructions
Angel Food Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and locate your angel food cake pan. Do not butter or spray or grease the pan in any way.
- In a large bowl sift together ¾ cup (150 grams) of granulated sugar and the sifted cake flour.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the cream of tartar, lemon juice, vanilla, and almond extract and continue to beat until soft peaks form roughly 2-3 minutes.
- Gradually beat in the remaining ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until glossy stiff peaks form. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Remove bowl from stand mixer.
- Sift the flour mixture (¼ cup at a time) over the egg whites and using a rubber spatula, gently fold (do not stir) the flour into the egg whites.
- Pour the batter into the pan and run a metal spatula or knife through the batter in a zig-zag motion to remove any air pockets. Smooth the top and then bake in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes. The cake is done when the cake springs back when gently pressed or there are cracks over the top.
- Immediately upon removing from the oven invert the pan and allow the cake to cool for about 1 ½ hours. While the cake is cooling, roast the strawberries.
- When completely cool, run an offset spatula or knife around the sides and center tube of the pan to loosen the cake and then remove the cake from the pan.
- Next, use the offset spatula (or knife) along the bottom and remove. Set cake on cake stand.
Roasted Strawberries
- Increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place sliced strawberries in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Drizzle evenly with syrup and sprinkle cinnamon on top.
- Roast for 10-12 minutes, or until berries are tender and have begun to release their juices.
- Place strawberry spread into a medium bowl. Dump roasted strawberries on top of spread and mix together with a fork. If the mixture seems too thick can add up to ½ cup warm water.
- When ready to serve, pour some sauce (not all) over cake. Cut cake using either a very (very) sharp knife or a serrated knife. Use a ‘saw’ motion and try not to press the cake down as you cut. Place the piece on a plate and drop a dollop of whipped cream on top. Cover with more strawberry sauce.
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Mmm…roasted strawberries+that luscious looking cake?? I’m in!! 🙂
Love the roasted strawberries on top! I couldn’t help but laugh about the cake because I’ve done that a time or two before I bought the right pan! It turned out lovely though and I bet the fam was happy to have all that cake!
Why have I never tried roasted strawberries before? This sauce sounds completely sinful and like the perfect compliment to angel food cake. Though I may just make the sauce and use it on top of a store bought cake. Sorry! 😉
Hi Amanda,
I made this cake this morning — can’t wait to try it tomorrow! I did a trial run with just the strawberries last week (minus the strawberry jam) and had them over vanilla ice cream. OMG heaven!
I noticed in your instructions you say to add salt along with extracts, lemon juice, etc, but I don’t see salt on the ingredients list. I added about 1/2tsp to be safe and crossing my fingers that it was an appropriate amount! 🙂
Thanks for this divine recipe! I can’t wait to share it with my family for Sunday dinner tomorrow!
Oh, if only for the smell of roasted strawberry, this recipe is worth trying. The word “roasted” in the recipe got me really interested. I’m one of those who love roasted anything if it can be done. This is unique.
Love it
I plan to make this cake this weekend! Just found an angel food cake pan at a thrift store and now have no excuse not to 🙂
Can I bake this roasted strawberry sauce the night before and take to work next day with angel food cake for a birthday celebration? In other words does it have to be warm before serving? Thank you
No, they don’t have to be served warm, but it is a bit better IMHO. Do you have a microwave at work?
Hi I love your recipes.
I wanted to ask as there is no baking powder or baking soda in the recipe so how will the cake rise?
and is there any substitiute of cake flour?
It rises because you whip air into the egg whites. Doesn’t require baking powder or soda.
What should the eggs weigh? In your Tips for Success you stressed that we must weigh the the eggs, but only gave a volume measurement for them – (1 1/2 cups/or 360 ml/or 12 eggs) Thank you.
Just for future reference, 1ml = 1gram, 1cup = 8 ounces.