The Angel Food Cake is a soft and tall ring cake, similar to the chiffon cake, made with only egg whites whipped without added fats. It remains a very spongy ring cake, with a unique texture, a true cloud of taste, beautiful to look at and delicious, which lends itself well to being decorated and filled.
The ideal snack for the whole family and for athletes who love protein desserts without lactose and fats. The batter is really quick to prepare: if you use a stand mixer to whip the egg whites, in less than 10 minutes you will be ready to bake.
In my recipe, I flavor the angel cake with the zest of a lemon, but each time you can have fun changing the taste by adding different aromas. The egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks with cream of tartar, then sugar and flour are added by hand with a whisk and baked in the special chiffon cake pan, which allows us to cool it upside down.
If you decide to use it as a base for your decorated cakes, you can use any baking pan; the important thing is to remember not to grease it because, to maintain its characteristic softness, it is always good to find a way to cool it upside down.
If you want ideas to decorate it on top, in the hole, or fill it in layers, I remind you of these recipes
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Electric oven, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 157.78 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 35.13 (g) of which sugars 24.71 (g)
- Proteins 6.05 (g)
- Fat 0.10 (g) of which saturated 0.00 (g)of which unsaturated 0.00 (g)
- Fibers 0.35 (g)
- Sodium 108.45 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 67 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 17.64 oz egg whites
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 lemon zest (grated)
- to taste powdered sugar (to serve, optional)
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Cake Pan
- 1 Hand Whisk
Preparation
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks using a stand mixer or an electric whisk. When they start to froth, add the cream of tartar and, when they are almost fully whipped, add part of the sugar from the recipe, about 3 or 4 tablespoons. Let the egg whites whip well with the cream of tartar and sugar, it will take about 7/8 minutes. Do the test by lifting the whisk: the egg white should not fall back into the bowl but stay attached to the whisk.
The remaining sugar is added to the flour, use a hand whisk to aerate them well by mixing them together; alternatively, you can sift them together.
Turn off the stand mixer and, by hand, in several additions, add the flour and sugar to the whipped egg whites.
As the last step, add the grated lemon zest. Always be careful not to grate the white part of the lemon peel as it would taste bitter. Always mix with a hand whisk, using circular movements from bottom to top, to avoid deflating the batter too much.
You will get a rather compact batter that you will need to put in the pan, which should not be treated to make it non-stick, so do not oil or butter it.
Arrange the batter in the pan as evenly as possible, using the whisk or a spatula. Bake in a preheated oven at 320°F for about 40 minutes. Do the toothpick test before taking it out of the oven. The angel food cake needs to cool upside down: if you have the chiffon cake pan there is no problem as it has special feet. If you are using another pan, use supports to cool it upside down.
NOTES
This ring cake is as soft as a cloud and stays that way for several days if stored at room temperature in special cake tins with a lid. You can make it even more delicious by serving it with a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of chocolate or royal icing on the surface.
If you liked the recipe or if you have any questions, feel free to comment here or on social Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and X.
