American
Classic Angel Food Cake
A tall, fine-crumbed angel food cake rises entirely from whipped egg whites, with vanilla, a delicate golden crust, and a clean, cloudlike interior.
12 servings · 30 minutes prep · 42 minutes cook
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup cake flour
- 3/4 cup superfine granulated sugar, for the flour mixture
- 3/4 cup superfine granulated sugar, for the meringue
- 1 3/4 cups egg whites, room temperature, with no trace of yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
Prepare the Dry Mix
- Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Keep a 10-inch tube pan completely clean and ungreased. Sift the cake flour with the sugar for the flour mixture three times; set aside.
Whip and Fold
- Beat the egg whites and salt on medium until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue until soft peaks form. Add the meringue sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating at medium-high until the meringue is glossy and holds medium-stiff peaks with tips that bend slightly. Beat in the vanilla for 10 seconds.
- Sift one-quarter of the flour mixture over the foam. Fold with a broad spatula by cutting down the center, sweeping the bottom, and turning the bowl. Repeat three times, stopping as soon as no dry streaks remain.
- Spoon into the ungreased tube pan. Run a thin spatula once through the batter to break large air pockets, then level the top without pressing.
Bake, Invert, and Release
- Bake 38 to 45 minutes until deep golden, springy, and a skewer emerges clean. Immediately invert the pan on its feet or over a stable bottle neck. Cool completely, 90 to 120 minutes.
- Run a thin knife around the outer wall and center tube, release the cake, then loosen the base. Slice with a serrated knife using a light sawing motion.
