Gluten Free Angel Food Cake is light and spongy, exactly like it’s all-purpose counterpart. It has the same taste and texture and I had to convince some it was gluten free.
You may be asking yourself, “What’s an angel food cake doing on a pie blog?” It’s because I wanted to make a Tiramisu Pie and I wanted gluten free angel food. Therefore, we have cake on a pie blog.
Take one look at that slice below and tell me you’re not ready to dive into that heavenly creation.
Important Points for Angel Food Cake (gluten free or all-purpose flour)
- Make sure all equipment (spatulas, mixing bowls, measuring spoons, cups, etc.) are ALL GREASE FREE. The egg whites will not get fluffy no matter what you do if there is a spec of oil, fat, or grease.
- Separate eggs and place egg white, one at a time, into mixing bowl. If ANY egg yolk gets into the egg whites, like oil, the egg whites will not get fluffy.
- If you overbeat the egg whites and sugar your angel food cake will be denser.
- Do NOT grease or oil the angel food cake pan. Fight the urge!
- Let the cake cool for 2 hours without trying to coax it out of pan. If you try to remove it when warm it can deflate the angel food.
Above are the eggs being separated. Once the egg whites are all in mixing bowl, add the cream of tartar and beat for about 2 minutes until they are foamy.
The sugar is then added at that point and the mixture is beaten on medium-high for about 3 to 4 minutes. The egg whites will be glossy and medium peaks have formed. I did slightly overbeat the whites and sugar and my cake was ever so slightly denser than previous. But, as I was making tiramisu, I didn’t care and it tasted just as good.
The gluten free flour is added while the mixer is running on low, just until combined. Spread this gorgeous white batter in a NON-GREASED, NON-OILED angel food cake pan. (Sorry, no picture before baking, oops.) Bake 40 to 45 minutes at 350 F.
My pan has feet so I inverted the pan on the countertop and let it cool for 2 hours. When the cake is completely cooled I ran a dinner knife around the inside edge and removed the pan. I then ran the same knife around the insert of the bottom to remove the cake.
Use serrated bread knife for slicing and enjoy the angel magic!
Helpful products I used for this recipe:
Angel Food Cake Pan – this pan comes with built in feet, so no balancing on a bottle when cooling from baking.
KitchenAid Standup Mixer (artisan series) – this mixer makes whipping those egg whites a breeze!
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Angel Food Cake – Gluten Free
Course: Gluten Free, DessertDifficulty: Medium-Easy12
servings20
minutes40
minutesAngel Food Cake: Light and airy tasty sponge cake which can be made gluten free or with all purpose flour. Heavenly dessert awaits.
Ingredients
3/4 cup gluten free flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill to 1 to 1)*
1/4 cup cornstarch
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar (ground for caster sugar texture)
11 egg whites (1-1/2 cups if using boxed egg whites)
1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
- Make sure mixing bowl(s) all utensils, and angel food cake pan are completely grease-free. (I run all of my items through dishwasher if I am not 100% confident.)
- Adjust oven racks to the lower positions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl, add gluten free flour blend and cornstarch, whisk to combine and set aside.
- In your large mixer bowl (I use my standup KitchenAid), add egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until the egg whites are foamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add vanilla then beat to combine.
- Lower the speed to medium-low while slowly and steadily sprinkling in the ground fine sugar. Once all the sugar has been added, turn the speed up to medium-high and continue to beat until the egg whites are glossy and medium peaks have formed, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Slowly sprinkle in the flour/cornstarch mixture with the mixer constantly beating at medium-low, until it is all combined.
- Turn off mixer and using a clean spatula, scrape the bottom and sides to be sure all ingredients are mixed through. Use spatula to spoon batter into the NON-greased angel food baking pan. Smooth over the top. Bake for 40 minutes. The top should be golden brown.
- Remove from oven and immediately invert the pan. My angel food baking pan has feet, so I can invert directly over the countertop or cutting board. If your pan does not have feet, invert the pan over a bottle (wine bottle, vinegar bottle, large soy sauce bottle, etc.)
- Let cake cool completely. Just walk away and avoid the temptation of removing it too soon. The cake should take about 2 hour(s) to completely cool. Once cooled, turn the pan right side up then run a dinner knife around the inside and outside edges to release the cake.
Notes
- *Whatever gluten free flour blend you use, make sure it has xanthan gum or similar binder.
