Angel food cake is light, fluffy and overall delicious. That is, if you can do it correctly. No offense to baking wizards who mastered the perfect angel food cake long ago, but some people struggle with the pitfalls of angel food cake (meaning me). The issues with angel food is that it can sometimes come out too wet, too dense, or it tends to fall when it’s cooling. All of which make for not-so-delicious cake. To get that fluffy angel food cake of your dreams, you’ll need to follow a few simple tips. Watch the technique below for the perfect angel food cake.
As it turns out, getting that perfect angel food cake is a liiiitle more complicated than following the directions on the box! For truly magnificent cake, make from scratch and keep these tips in mind.
1. ALWAYS use egg whites when making angel food cake – the whites give that cake that lift that it needs. Regular eggs make it too dense.
2. Regular flour won’t do the trick. Cake flour has a lower protein content which will yield a more tender cake.
3. Don’t buy those non-stick angel food tube pans, spring for the aluminum ones. The aluminum has a texture that helps the angel food cake cling to the sides and effectively rise. Other pans won’t get your cake to rise correctly.
4. To pop air bubbles and get the batter into all the crevices of the pan, run a small knife through the batter.
5. Angel food cake MUST cool inverted – which means it has to cool upside down. Pans with feet help this process, but if you don’t have one with feet, stick a bottle into the center tube of the pan to let the cake cool upside down.
PERFECT ANGEL FOOD CAKE
INGREDIENTS
– 1 3/4 cups egg whites
– 1 tbsp. water
– 1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 2 tsp. vanilla extract
– 3/4 cup super-fine sugar
– 1 cup sifted cake flour
DIRECTIONS
2. As the eggs get frothy, add cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat until you see soft peaks.
3. Increase the speed to medium-high and add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Beat until you see stiff peaks.
4. Transfer to a bigger bowl. Sift the sugar and flour at least 3 times previously to avoid clumps. Sift over your batter in batches then fold the sugar/flour mixture into the batter.
5. Transfer into a tube cake pan. Spread the batter evenly with an offset spatula.
6. Remove batter from the top of the pan with your finger. Then take a knife and move it through the batter.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes on 350 F. with the rack in the middle of the oven.
8. Invert the pan to let the cake cool. Then take a frosting spatula and glide this around the outside of the cake, allowing it to fall out of the pan. Spin the spatula around the bottom of the pan and use a smaller knife to remove the center tube.