When I was a kid, angel food cake was one of my favorite desserts. It still is, but finding as store-bought cake that fits my dietary preferences was impossible. I tried making several versions of angel food cake – the first few were complete flops. They were heavy, too moist, and they collapsed. This version, though, is absolutely worth making. It’s better than the store-bought cakes I remember from my childhood.
Save egg whites from recipes only using yolks and freeze them in a Ziploc bag. I have made this recipe with both fresh and previously frozen egg whites. Both are equally light and scrumptious.
I use a special angel food cake can with prongs to allow me to easily invert the pan after baking. I’ve tried non-stick pans and regular aluminum pans. As far as baking goes, the result is the same. I prefer to use a non-stick pan, though, because the cake releases easier and it’s much easier to clean. If you use a dark non-stick pan reduce the baking time by 5 – 10 minutes depending on your oven.
Do not grease your pan. Also, have all of your ingredients measured and ready to go so that you can quickly get this cake into the oven. It’s easiest to make this cake batter on a stand mixer but is totally doable with a hand mixer.
Stop by Slightly Indulgent Tuesday for more delicious recipes!
Ingredients
- 12 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup millet flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Separate egg whites in a stainless steel bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let them come to room temperature. This takes about an hour. If you're in a time-crunch, put your egg whites in a zip-lock bag and place the sealed bag in warm tap water for about 10 minutes. This will bring them to room temperature quickly.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Position a rack in the lower middle portion of the oven. Cut two 10 inch long pieces of wax paper and put them on the counter for triple sifting the flour. Put the sifter on one sheet of wax paper and then put all of the flour and xanthan gum into a flour sifter. Sift the flour. Move the empty sifter to the other piece of wax paper and gently lift the flour on the wax paper and dump into the sifter. Sift and repeat one more time. Set aside.
- Beat the egg whites on low speed until they are beginning to break up and are frothy. Add the cream of tartar and salt, increase speed to medium and continue to beat until the egg whites are billowy mounds. Pour the agave nectar about one tablespoon at a time into the egg whites until all agave is incorporated and the eggs are at the soft peak stage. This means that the peak will form and then fold over on itself. Beating the eggs to stiff peaks will make it difficult to incorporate the flour without deflating the whites. Pour in vanilla and lemon juice. Mix until just incorporated.
- Sift the flour over the egg whites about 3 tablespoons at a time and fold in very gently, making sure to cut down into the bottom of the batter and lift it up over the rest of the whites. Resist the temptation to move quickly or stir. Remember to add in any flour still remaining on the waxed paper.
- Pour batter into angel food cake pan and cut through batter with a knife, going around pan, to remove any large air bubbles. Smooth top of batter with a spatula. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes until golden brown and cake springs back when firmly pressed. Check cake after 50 minutes as oven temperatures vary.
- When cake is finished, remove from oven and immediately invert on a cake platter. Let cake cool completely, 2-3 hours. To remove cake from pan, place pan on it's side on the countertop. Use a long, thin, flexible spatula to cut around the edge of the cake, always pushing against the pan. Pop the bottom of the cake pan up. Use a long, thin boning knife to cut around the core. Use the long thin spatula to release the angel food cake from the bottom.
jacobithegreat
posted on June 24, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Oh my gosh. Thank you for the craving- and the recipe! Now I have to save up 12 egg whites, haha.
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Amy Green
posted on June 24, 2009 at 10:14 pm
i know – 12 egg whites seems like a lot. i freeze the whites after seperating eggs and save them until I have enough to make this yummy cake. i love, love, love it! btw – you have some fab recipes on your site, too.
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Ari- Food Intolerances Cook Reply:
August 31st, 2009 at 12:30 am
Amy-
Can you freeze the yolks too? How do you freeze them? In separate containers/bags? How do you defrost them for use again?
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Amy Reply:
August 31st, 2009 at 9:17 am
I don’t think you can freeze yolks. I could be wrong, though. I’ve never done it. If have stored egg yolks in the refrigerator covered for a day but if I don’t use them I throw them out.
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Linda
posted on August 31, 2009 at 10:03 am
I’ve only tried gf angel food cake once and it wasn’t very good. Yours looks wonderful. I will have to try it soon.
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Zoe @ Z's Cup of Tea
posted on June 30, 2010 at 7:29 pm
I made this last week, as cupcakes, and they were really good! The recipe was fairly quick to whip up, too. All of the cupcakes (2 dozen) were gone by the end of the day! This was one of the best gluten-free cakes with grains that I’ve made and eaten. Thanks so much for the recipe, Amy!
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Dana
posted on July 2, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Hi,
In Israel, we don’t have millet flour and sweet rice flour. I would like to put other flours – Which flours can fits?
I do have: brown rice, white rice, tapioca, potato strach. I can’t use corn flour beacuse I allergic to maize.
Thanks!!
(I never ate “Angel food cake”!
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Amy Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 3:04 pm
@Dana, I am not sure that it will work but I would try 2/3 cup white rice and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. It’s couldn’t say for sure without actually making the recipes. I think brown rice flour would be too heavy for this type of cake.
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Dana Reply:
July 19th, 2010 at 6:36 am
Hi Amy,
I bought this week coffee grinder. in Israel there is no millet and sweet rice flours, so I grounded some millet and sweet rice and turned it to powder. The sweet rice seems heavy like brown rice, in my opinion. Is it OK? does it taste is a little bit bitter?
My birthday is next week and I would like to eat this cake so much!
Thanks a lot,
Dana
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Amy Reply:
July 19th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
@Dana, Sweet rice flour is pretty neutral – in the States it’s soft and powdery. If you haven’t already, grind the heck out of it. I know you can’t get the same ingredients but if it was me, I’d go ahead and do a test run on the cake and see how it comes out. Sometimes baking gluten-free isn’t always exactly what I think it should be but it’s still delicious.
Or, just use the 1/3 cup each of the tapioca starch, brown rice, and white rice – or 1/2 cup tapioca starch and 1/2 cup white rice.
Happy birthday a little early – sending wishes for the perfect cake. Hugs!!
Jennifer Reply:
March 25th, 2011 at 6:28 pm
I tried making this with 1/3 tapioca starch and 2/3 white rice flour and it turned out great. I also baked them as cupcakes. My kids loved them!
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Amy Reply:
March 28th, 2011 at 8:37 am
@Jennifer, Thanks for letting me know, Jennifer!
Tami
posted on July 17, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Thank you for this wonderful recipe and for your blog! I discovered this blog when searching for a GF angel food cake recipe to make for my daughter’s birthday, and it was perfect! I was in a hurry so I used the GF flour mix I had on hand (Better Batter) and even though I was worried the eggs weren’t beaten enough it turned out WONDERFUL!!! Everyone loved it and I think it will be a family favorite!
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Amy Reply:
July 19th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
@Tami, You absolutely made my day…thanks so much for sharing this. I haven’t made an angel food cake yet this summer…I’ll have to do it soon. Hugs!! (And a belated happy birthday to your daughter, too!)
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Carol
posted on July 18, 2010 at 9:52 pm
I wanted to know if this could be made without eggs? Also, I wanted to substitute agave nectar for maple syrup? Also, would I skip the maple syrup & just add pineapple? Sorry to ask so many questions, but my daughter has so many dietary issues, I want to make something special for her birthday. Your recipe seems the best! Please let me know the answers to my questions if you could. Thanks for your help.
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Amy Reply:
July 19th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
@Carol, Eggs are what give the cake it’s light, airy texture. I don’t know how to make an angel food cake without eggs. If your daughter can’t eat eggs, I’d try a different type of cake all together unless you know of an egg substitute that will whip up nice and light.
You could use the maple syrup but I don’t know if pineapple would work or not. Hugs to you and happy birthday to your daughter!
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Dana
posted on July 20, 2010 at 12:53 am
One more question please…
Does “sweet rice flour” is actually a sticky rice flour (“GLUTINOUS RICE FLOUR”) which is sold in asian stores?
Thanks again,
Dana
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Dana
posted on July 28, 2010 at 12:28 am
I baked this cake yesterday, for my birthday (today). I never ate this kind of cake before – but I must say that it was great!!!! I really love it!
Thank you very much, your blog is wonderful!
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Amy Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 11:30 am
@Dana, So glad you’re enjoying the cake!! Happy birthday!!
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Robin
posted on September 5, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Amy,
I am trying to make this for my daughter’s birthday. I have tried this cake twice and both times the bottom of the cake is leathery and dense. The top half of the cake is fine (and really tasty!). I do not have sweet rice flour but am using double the white rice flour to substitute. Otherwise I am following the recipe to the letter. I don’t know what to try to correct this problem or what could be causing it. Any suggestions?
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Amy Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 9:49 am
@Robin, It sounds more like a mixing problem if half of the cake is great and the other half isn’t. Sweet rice flour is a little starchier than white rice, so that could be part of the problem too. I’d try using a starchier flour, like tapioca, instead of doubling the white rice flour – but I can’t promise it will work because I haven’t tested it myself.
This really is a fabulous cake – I hope you get it worked out.
Hugs,
Amy
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Melissa
posted on September 5, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Like you, my favorite cake has always been the angel food cake. When I was growing up my Mother would make this and put an icing on it. Since going GF I have not really found a good recipe, so I look forward to trying yours. Can you use the egg whites in cartons you find in the grocery store for this recipe?
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Amy Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 9:46 am
@Melissa, Absolutely.
Hugs,
Amy
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Pat
posted on October 4, 2010 at 7:37 am
I made angel food cake last night with your recipe except I used blanched almond flour instead of the four gf flours. Elana Amsterdam is so enthusiastic about the almond flour, claiming it bakes the most like wheat flour, that I thought surely it would work. Unfortunately, my cake dropped to half its size and was too moist, almost like custard– especially at the bottom. It baked for a full hour until it was darkish brown on the top so I’m pretty sure it baked long enough. Was the blanched almond flour the problem? Would it be better to use a dry sweetener like stevia or lo han? I have no previous experience with angel food cake, gf or not, so I’m wondering where I went wrong. The “cake” was so embarrassing; my sweets-loving grandson wouldn’t even touch it. Surprisingly, my daughter still loved it and requested it for her birthday again next year!
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Amy Reply:
October 4th, 2010 at 9:02 am
@Pat, Yes, the blanched almond flour was the problem. It’s way too heavy to make and angel food cake. At least that’s my opinion. Almond flour is great for some applications but not for all. For this cake, I used lighter flours that will bake nicely to give that light angel food cake texture.
This is a great recipe – I hope you’ll give it a try as written. Hugs!!
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Pat
posted on October 5, 2010 at 12:39 am
Thank you so much for the reply! I will certainly try the recipe again as written.You have a wonderful website and I can’t believe you find the time to reply to all the comments. Bless you for all you do!
Pat
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Amy Reply:
October 5th, 2010 at 9:25 am
@Pat, Thanks, Pat. I actually feel that I owe my readers a debt of gratitude for showing up…if it wasn’t for all of you I wouldn’t be able to blog. You make it possible for me to do what I love most. So, actually, I should be thanking you.
Hugs!
Amy
[Reply]
LA Phillips
posted on October 9, 2010 at 4:56 pm
I can buy just egg white only grocery stores here and just wondering how many cups is equivalent to 12 egg whites? Also, can I use splenda instead of agave nectar?
Thanks.
LA
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Amy Reply:
October 10th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
@LA Phillips, I’ve never tried Splenda so I don’t know. 1/4 cup = 2 egg whites, so you’d need about 1 1/2 cups of egg whites. You might look at the side of the carton – sometimes they have conversion charts that would be more exact than my calculations.
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Rachel
posted on December 8, 2010 at 11:27 pm
As cupcakes, and they were really good! The recipe was fairly quick to whip up, too. All of the cupcakes (2 dozen) were gone by the end of the day. Thank you so much.
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Jessica
posted on January 31, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Hey! One of my friends wants to make angel food cake for her GF daughter but she can’t have any of the gums. Do you think this would work without the gum in it?
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Amy Reply:
February 3rd, 2011 at 6:43 pm
@Jessica, I doubt it…it might but I’m not sure. You can most certainly try it and see what happens. Some people use gelatin instead of gums but I’ve never tried it before. It might be worth looking into.
Hugs,
Amy
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Gina
posted on February 26, 2011 at 6:27 am
Oh my heavens!! That sounds amazing!! Cannot wait to try it!!
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Diane
posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:43 am
Could I use honey instead of agave? The cake looks so good I’m planning to make out this weekend as cupcakes!
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Diane Reply:
April 20th, 2011 at 11:44 am
@Diane,
Oh darn you auto correct “it”
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Jillian@Moringa
posted on May 17, 2011 at 2:27 pm
I love angel food cake – especially with whipped cream and strawberries! I’m going to go home and make some now
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Ari
posted on June 5, 2011 at 11:25 pm
I made this today and it just didn’t turn out right. I made into cupcakes and 3/4 of the cupcake was like biting into egg whites. Not sure what I did wrong?
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Amy Reply:
June 8th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
@Ari, I’m not sure either, Ari. It sounds like the flour didn’t get evenly folded into the egg whites. Just my best guess.
Hugs,
Amy
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Ligea
posted on July 4, 2011 at 12:47 pm
I just wanted to throw out there that making Angel Food is a great excuse to also make pastry cream with all the left over yolks. I have three birthdays to celebrate at work this week and am making an angel food served with berries and a boston cream pie with the pastry cream.
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Monica
posted on July 7, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Hi Amy,
Would this still work with stevia instead of agave? I’m not concerned about the sweet taste, just wondering if you need the sweetener agave for a particular chemical reaction. I do better on agave than sugar, but better still on stevia than agave!
Thank you!
Monica
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Amy Reply:
July 8th, 2011 at 9:24 am
@Monica, No, it wouldn’t work with stevia. Stevia has a totally different function in baking. You could probably reduce the agave a little and supplement with stevia…no promises it will work, though.
Hugs,
Amy
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Carol@easytobeglutenfree
posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:10 am
YUM! Love, love, love angel food cake!
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