Angel Food Cake with Summer Berry Sauce
Everyone loves this light and fluffy Angel Food Cake! Served with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries, it’s the ultimate cake recipe for summer.
Homemade Angel Food Cake with Summer Berry Sauce
While I was baking this angel food cake, memories steadily flowed in and out of my head. They were almost surreal, playing with my mind and making me wonder if I was in the past or present. The preparation, the delicious smell and flavor of almond, the banter with my own daughter in the kitchen…I was flooded with flashbacks of being in the kitchen with Mom, baking this cake.
I can picture the harvest gold countertops, the squarish beige stand mixer in the corner, gold Tupperware measuring cups, and tarnished metal measuring spoons. The cake sits cooling, overturned atop a large green glass bottle of soda. And the aroma throughout the house is heavenly.
When I made this angel food cake a few days ago, it was my first time flying solo (not with Mom). I plucked my Betty Crocker cookbook off the shelf, turned on some tunes, and got to work separating eggs. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. From whipping the meringue, to gently folding the batter, to watching the almond scented cake cooling upside down, it was all so good.
Some people might argue that making this cake is a waste of time and energy. And if truth be told, I’ve picked up my share of inexpensive angel food cakes from the grocery store bakery department. But I was treated to so many good memories with making this, I know it will not be the last time it gets baked in this house.
Both of our girls absolutely loved this cake. Tessa, who can easily walk away from a baked sweet, actually sat and ate a whole piece (multiple times!). And it was the perfect end to a summer lunch on the deck with girlfriends. Flavorful and light, served with citrusy Summer Berry Sauce and freshly whipped cream, it was eagerly devoured.
Angel Food Cake
Everyone loves this light and fluffy Angel Food Cake! Served with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries, it's the ultimate cake recipe for summer.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1½ cups egg whites (from about 11-12 large eggs)
- 1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Move oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 375° F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and flour; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Make sure your bowl and beaters are very clean and dry and that there are no egg yolks present, as even a bit of grease or egg yolk will prevent egg whites from beating properly. Beat in granulated sugar on high speed, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding vanilla, almond extract, and salt with the last addition of sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Now you have meringue!
- Sprinkle powdered sugar-flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, over meringue, gently folding it in just until sugar-flour mixture disappears. Overfolding can break down the egg whites and result in a compact cake. Transfer batter to an ungreased 10" x 4" tube pan. Cut gently through batter with a butter knife to even out the batter.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until cracks in cake feel dry and the top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pan upside down onto a bottle neck or metal funnel on the countertop and let hang about 2 hours or until cake is completely cool. (A cake that pulls away and/or falls out of the pan is underbaked.)
- Turn cake pan right side up and gently slide knife around the cake's edge, then remove cake from pan. Serve with whipped cream and raspberry sauce or rhubarb sauce.
Notes
Angel Food Cake recipe adapted just a bit from "Betty Crocker's 40th Anniversary Edition Cookbook".
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 134Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 58mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 0gSugar: 23gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
Oh I love the blue and brown background to your photos, and I can almost smell the cake; bringing to me memories of the cake pan on my grandmother’s counter tilted up-side down over a thick tall cardboard spool she got at the fabric store. mmm
I’m getting lots of smiles over these wonderful memories. Thanks, Diane!
Looks great, Brenda! I had to comment on this one…angel food cake is THE memory of birthdays growing up! Grandma Olive made an angel food cake for everyone in the family on their birthday. She always made them with colorful confetti in the cake. And, she frosted them with a glaze and multi-colored sprinkles (the tiny round ball ones) on top. There was always a birthday cake fresh for us, whether or not we actually saw Grandma Olive on our birthday, or days later. Jessica and I now have the tin cake carrier the cakes were always in. Who knows how many angel food cakes that has held…
Scott, this makes me smile. I can just picture Grandma Olive doing this for everyone, such a special woman. I love that you now have her cake carrier – what a wonderful keepsake/tradition to remember and honor her, and to pass along to your kids.
It looks absolutely fabulous. Well done. You should be very proud of yourself. :)
Thanks Paula! ‘Twas yummy!