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sliced gluten-free angel food cake on green cake stand

Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake from Scratch

How to make homemade gluten-free angel food cake that's light and fluffy. Easy recipe, classic dessert, best served with fresh strawberries.
4.50 from 2 votes
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Course: Cakes, Desserts
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Cooling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 185kcal
Author: Mel Lockcuff

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups cane sugar
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 11 large egg whites at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350° F.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the sugar, powdered sugar, flour, xanthan gum, and salt.
  • In a separate large bowl with a mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until they form soft peaks.
  • Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites by hand.
  • Add the vanilla extract, and gently mix.
  • Spread the batter into an ungreased tube pan, and bake at 350° F for about 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean. It's very important that your cake pan be un-greased because you want your cake to stick to the sides and bottom of the pan. You'll see why in the next step.
  • When your cake comes out of the oven, immediately turn it upside down to cool for about 1 hour. You can put it on a wire rack, or you can turn it upside down, placing the tube part of your pan on the neck of a bottle or on a can.
  • Once your cake has cooled completely, run a knife around the edge, and remove the cake from the pan.
  • Then slice and serve, preferably with fresh berries and whipped cream.

Notes

*I make this recipe with Authentic Foods Classical Blend gluten-free flour. Time and time again, it has consistently given me the best results. Keep in mind, different gluten-free flours can give different results.
LET'S TALK ABOUT SOFT PEAKS
You've heard the term soft peaks, and you've heard the term stiff peaks. With this recipe, we want soft peaks. What that means is you need to whip the egg whites into soft peaks. Soft peaks will melt back into the mixture before you can even get them out of the mixing bowl, whereas stiff peaks tend to keep their shape.
The reason you want soft is because you want them to continue to rise as the cake bakes. If you've over whipped your batter and have stiff peaks, your cake may collapse while baking.
WHY DO I NEED TO COOL THE CAKE UPSIDE DOWN?
This is a really important step because, if you leave your cake upright, it will fall in, or collapse, on itself. If it falls, you won't have the light and fluffy cake that you so crave.
You see, this cake has a lot less flour than your typical cake. The egg whites are what help it to rise, and if they're not allowed to cool upside down, well, they just can't hold themselves up.
I talked about placing the tube of the pan onto the neck of a bottle or a can. But some angel food cake pans come with little feet that help the pan to stand upside down on its own. This cake pan is one example.
CAN YOU FREEZE ANGEL FOOD CAKE?
Yes, you can. In fact, you can leave it whole or slice it and freeze it. Just be sure to cover it with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and place it in either a freezer bag or airtight container to prevent freezer burn.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 72mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg
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