Martha Stewart Angel Food Cake

Martha Stewart angel food cake is an easy dessert made with 12 egg whites, cake flour and sugar, ready in 1 hour 10 minutes plus cooling. It's a simple summer dessert recipe for Easter brunch, birthdays or Fourth of July cookouts, and it's completely butter-free, light and airy.

Fold the sifted flour into the egg whites in four small additions, cutting down the center and sweeping up the sides. Dump it in all at once and the whites deflate, so the cake bakes up short and dense.

Martha makes the batter with no baking powder, butter or oil, so all the lift comes from whipped egg whites and cream of tartar. Cooling the cake upside down in its tube pan also keeps it tall instead of sinking.

Martha Stewart Angel Food Cake

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Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

170

kcal

A tall, snowy cake with a tender, springy crumb and a golden, sugar-kissed top. Whipping the whites to stiff peaks and cooling the pan upside down give it that cloud-like texture.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cake flour (spooned and leveled)
  

• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  

• 12 large egg whites, room temperature
  

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
  

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  

• Berries and Cream , for serving (optional)
  

Directions

• Preheat and sift: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Then sift 1 cup cake flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt through a sieve into a bowl and set it aside.
• Beat the whites: Beat 12 room-temperature egg whites with a mixer on medium-high until foamy, about 1 minute. Then add 1 teaspoon cream of tartar and keep beating until soft peaks form.
• Add the sugar: Add 1 1/4 cups sugar gradually while the mixer keeps running. Once stiff peaks form, after about 2 minutes, beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla until just combined.
• Move to a wide bowl: Gently transfer the egg white mixture to a large, wide bowl. That gives you room to fold without crushing the air you just whipped in.
• Fold in the flour: Sift the flour mixture over the whites in four batches, using the same sieve each time. While turning the bowl, cut down the center with a rubber spatula and come up the sides to fold it in.
• Bake the cake: Spoon the batter into an ungreased angel food pan with a removable bottom and smooth the top. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the cake is golden and springs back when lightly pressed.
• Invert to cool: Turn the pan upside down and let the cake cool in it for 1 hour. This keeps it from collapsing as it sets.
• Unmold and serve: Run a knife around the inside of the pan and the tube to release the cake, then unmold it. Slide the knife under the cake to free it from the bottom, then serve with berries and cream if you like.

Tools for this recipe

• KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixer, Cuisinart fine mesh strainer set, Chicago Metallic angel food tube pan, removable center, Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract, 8 oz. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

FAQs

What can I do with all the leftover egg yolks?

Martha suggests using them for lemon curd, ice cream, pastry cream or aioli. Yolks keep covered in the fridge for a couple of days, so you can bake the cake first and decide later.

Can I make a chocolate angel food cake?

Yes, swap 1/4 cup of the cake flour for 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and cut the vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Sift the cocoa with the flour so it folds in without lumps.

Do I really need an angel food cake pan?

Yes, the tall tube pan with a removable bottom is what holds this batter up as it bakes. The feet also let you flip the pan upside down while it cools, which stops the cake from sinking.

Why does the recipe use cream of tartar?

Cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites so they whip higher and hold their peaks. With no baking powder, butter or oil in the batter, the whites are the only thing lifting the cake.

How should I serve and store angel food cake?

Serve slices with tea, or with whipped cream and fresh berries for dessert. Cover leftovers loosely at room temperature and eat them within a day or two, since the delicate crumb dries out quickly.