Homemade Angel Food Cake Recipes

There's a special kind of magic in the old-fashioned desserts from Grandma's kitchen, and none are quite as heavenly as those made from her cherished homemade angel food cake recipes. These aren't just cakes; they are clouds of sweet, airy perfection, a testament to a time when simple ingredients and patient hands created the most divine treats.

It's thought by some food historians that these fluffy white cakes originated with thrifty Pennsylvania Dutch cooks as a practical way to use leftover egg whites, transforming humble staples into something truly spectacular. Thanks to these timeless recipes, you'll be able to bake a light, fluffy-textured dessert cake with a truly divine taste, perfect for sharing with your most appreciative guests.

Classic Homemade Angel Food Cake Recipes from Grandma's Kitchen

Mom's Recipe Scrapbooks (1920s)

Because of their signature lightness, angel food cakes naturally call for more egg whites than other cakes. Today, containers of pasteurized egg whites can be purchased in most food stores, making it easier and cheaper than separating whole eggs. However you source them, the result is pure, sweet nostalgia.

Classic 7-Step Homemade Angel Food Cake Recipe

Angel Cake Ingredients:

Whites of 6 eggs, 3/4 cup fruit sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 2-1/4 teaspoons cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/6 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice.

1. Sift the fruit sugar 5 times.
2. Sift four, cream of tartar, cornstarch, and salt 5 times.
3. Beat whites of eggs until foamy, add sugar slowly, continue beating.
4. Add flavoring, then lightly fold in the flour, sifting it gradually over the mixture.
5. Turn into non buttered angel food tube pan.
6. Bake in slow oven 1/2 hour (275°F to 300°F). Place in center of oven. The oven door should not be opened during first 20 minutes.
7. When done invert pan on cake-rack. Let cake hang in the pan until cold.

Fluffy 11-Egg Angel Food Cake

11 eggs, whites only
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Sift flour, cream of tartar, sugar, and salt together 4 or 5 times. Beat the egg whites in a large dish to a stiff froth. Add the sifted flour, etc., gradually, beating all the time. Have angel food cake pan ready — do not let the cake stand a minute after it is mixed!

Bake about 45 minutes at 300°F, or just until done, and do NOT open the oven door to check until the cake has been in at least 15 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons rose water to batter, if desired.

Show-Stopper Layered Angel Food Cake with Almond Cream Filling

Ingredients:

1-1/3 cups egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sifted cake flour

Size of angel food cake pan required: Deep tube center pan, 10-inches across; or 2 cake pans 7-1/2 inches across by 3-1/2 inches deep.

Method:

1. Beat egg whites with flat whip.
2. Add salt and cream of tartar when egg whites are frothy.
3. Continue beating until egg whites will stand in peaks when whip is pulled out.
4. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar that has been sifted twice.
5. Fold in vanilla flavoring.
6. Sift flour once before measuring.
7. Fold in flour gradually which has been sifted 3 times with remaining 1/2 cup sugar.
8. Pour into dry non greased pan. Cut through batter with a knife to break any large air bubbles in the batter.
9. Bake and after removing from oven, invert pan over two or three tumblers until cake is entirely cold. Having cake suspended thus, it will cool at full stretch and not fall back on itself.

Baking time and temperature: 1 hour in 325°F slow moderate oven.

Split cake to make 2 layers. Place almond cream filling between layers and cover cake top with white seven-minute icing (see recipes below).

Almond Cream Filling

4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup rich milk, or table cream
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 pound blanched and toasted almonds, chopped.

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add milk and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add slowly, slightly beaten egg yolks and cook in double boiler until thick and creamy, add nuts and vanilla and cool before spreading between layers of angel cake.

Seven Minute Icing

1 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites
4 tablespoons cold water
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Place first 5 ingredients in saucepan, set in pan of hot water over low heat. Beat continuously for 7 minutes. Remove from heat, add flavoring and beat well. When cool spread generously over top of cake.

The Surprising "Mock" Angel Food Cake (Only 2 Eggs)

1 cup sugar
1-1/3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup scalded milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whites 2 eggs

Mix and sift the first four ingredients four times. Add gradually, the scalded milk. Fold in whites of eggs, beaten until stiff, and add the vanilla.

Turn into a non buttered angel food cake pan and bake in a moderate oven (350°F) 45 minutes, or until done.

Frau Schmidt's Feather-Light Homemade Angel Food Cake Recipe

Mary at The Farm and Book of Recipes (1915)

Feather Light Angel Food Cake

When making this homemade Angel Food Cake recipe from scratch, use one even cupful of the whites of egg (whites of either eight large or nine small eggs). A pinch of salt, if added when beating eggs, hastens tthe work. One and one-quarter cups granulated sugar, and 1 cup of Iglehart's Swansdown cake flour. Sift flour once, then measure and sift three times.

Beat whites of eggs about half, add 1/2 teaspoonful of cream of tartar then beat whites of eggs until they will stand of their own weight.

Add sugar, then flour, not by stirring, but by folding over and over, until thoroughly mixed. Flavor with 1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla or a few drops of almond extract.

Frau Schmidt's Secrets to Perfect Cake Baking

• As much care should be taken in baking an Angel cake as in mixing.
• Bake in an ungreased angel food pan. Place the cake in an oven that is just slightly warm until the batter has raised to the top of the cake pan, then increase the heat gradually until the cake is well browned over (350°F).
• If by pressing the top of the cake with the finger it will spring back without leaving the impression of the finger, the cake is done through.
• Great care should be taken that the oven is not too hot to begin with, as the cake will rise too fast and settle or fall in the baking. It should bake in from 35 to 40 minutes' time.
• When done, invert the pan and let stand until cold before removing it. Should you see the cake browning before it rises to top of pan, throw your oven door open and let cold air rush in and cool your oven instantly. Be not afraid. The cold air will not hurt the cake. Two minutes will cool any oven.
• Watch cake closely. Don't be afraid to open oven door every three or four minutes. This is the only way to properly bake this cake.
• When cake has raised above top of pan, increase your heat, and finish baking rapidly. Baking too long dries out the moisture and makes it tough and dry.
• When cake is done, it begins to shrink. Let it shrink back to level of pan. Watch carefully at this stage and take out of oven and invert immediately. Rest on center tube of pan. Let hang until perfectly cold, then take cake carefully from pan.
• When baking Angel food cake always be sure that the oven bakes good brown under bottom of cake. If cake does not crust under bottom, it will fall out when inverted and shrink in the fall.
• Most times, never invert pans of Angel food cake on taking them from oven, as the cakes are liable to fall out even if the pan is not greased. It's safer to allow the pans containing the cakes to stand on a rack and cool without inverting the pan.

Grandma's Angel Food Cake Success Tips

Achieving that perfect, cloud-like texture is an art. Here are some of Grandma's most trusted tips and explanations for baking flawless angel food cakes every time.

• Use Room Temperature Eggs: Cold egg whites will not whip to their full volume for an angel food cake. Let your egg whites sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before you begin.
• Keep Equipment Grease-Free: Any trace of grease or egg yolk in your bowl or on your beaters will prevent the egg whites from whipping up properly. Make sure everything is impeccably clean and dry.
• Sift, Sift, Sift: The homemade angel food cake recipes call for sifting multiple times for a reason! Sifting aerates the flour and sugar, making them lighter and easier to fold in without deflating your precious egg whites.

How to Remove Angel Food Cake From Its Pan: The Easy Way

Bake your Angel Food Cake following the instructions given in the homemade angel food cake recipe. After removing it from the hot oven, gently rest the rim of the inverted cake pan over two or three glasses, until the cake has fully cooled. Suspending it upside-down while cooling will prevent it from falling back on itself.

Finally, carefully run a thin knife or spatula carefully around the outer edge and the inner tube. Then, invert the pan and tap it sharply on a hard surface to dislodge the cake.

Your Angel Food Cake Questions, Answered

Creative Desserts for Leftover Angel Food Cake

These are very easy desserts to make when you have some leftover Angel Food Cake. Delicious!

Angel Food Surprise

Here's a wonderful old fashioned dessert idea. Imagine serving generous slices of angel food cake totally covered with rich butter icing containing crushed pineapple bits and topped with a glistening pineapple slice and a strawberry.

If you don't have any leftover angel cake then choose one of the homemade angel food cake recipes and bake one tonight. You must try this old fashioned dessert. It's absolutely delicious!

Strawberry Angel Food Dessert

1 package (3 ounces) strawberry flavored gelatin dessert
1-1/4 cups boiling water
10 ounces sliced frozen strawberries or canned strawberries
1 tablespoon white sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 prebaked 10-inch angel food cake torn in pieces
1/2 pint whipping cream

Dissolve gelatin in 1-1/4 cups boiling water. Stir in thawed strawberries, sugar, and salt. Cool until it begins to thicken. Fold in the cream, whipped.

Cover bottom of 9-inch pan with half of the torn angel cake, pour over half of the strawberry and cream mixture, add another layer of cake and repeat strawberry and cream mixture. Refrigerate 4 to 5 hours until firm before serving.