Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake
Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake
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| gluten free | |
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| Yield: | 10" cake, 12 to 16 servings |
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour or ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice flour blend*
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 cup Baker's Special Sugar** or superfine sugar
- 1 1/2 cups egg whites (10 to 11 large eggs, separated, yolks discarded or reserved for another use)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract or Fiori di Sicilia, optional
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Baker's Special Sugar** or superfine sugar
- **Can you substitute regular granulated sugar? Yes; it'll take much longer for the egg whites to attain their require volume, and the cake's texture won't be as fine. See tip at right for more information.
Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in its lowest position.
2) Whisk together and then sift the flour, cornstarch, and 3/4 cup sugar. Set aside.
3) In a large, clean (grease-free) mixing bowl, beat together the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until foamy.
4) Add the flavorings. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer and continue beating until the egg whites have increased in volume, and thickened.
5) Gradually beat in the 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar, a bit at a time, until the meringue holds soft peaks.
6) Gently fold in the sifted flour/sugar blend ¼ cup at a time, just until incorporated.
7) Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10" round angel food pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter and remove any large air bubbles.
8) Bake the cake until it's a deep golden brown, and the top springs back when pressed lightly, about 45 minutes.
9) Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan onto the neck of a heatproof bottle or funnel, to suspend the cake upside down as it sets and cools, about 2 hours.
10) Remove the cake from the pan by running a thin spatula or knife around the edges of the pan, and turning the cake out onto a plate.
11) Cut the cake with a serrated knife or angel food cake comb. If it's difficult to cut, wet the knife and wipe it clean between slices.
12) Serve with whipped cream and fruit. Wrap any leftovers airtight, and store at room temperature.
Yield: one 10" cake, about 12 to 16 servings.
*Make your own blend
Many of our gluten-free recipes use our King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour, which includes ingredients that reduce the grittiness sometimes found in gluten-free baked goods. Our flour also increases the shelf life of your treats, keeping them fresh longer.
The following make-at-home blend, featuring stabilized brown rice flour, works pretty well when substituted; and it tastes better than a blend using regular brown rice flour.
Whisk together 6 cups (32 ounces) King Arthur stabilized brown rice flour; 2 cups (10 3/4 ounces) potato starch; and 1 cup (4 ounces) tapioca flour or tapioca starch. Store airtight at room temperature. Note: You can substitute white rice flour for the brown rice flour if you like; it'll make your baked goods grittier (unless you manage to find a finely ground version).
Daffodil Cake: Make the cake batter as directed above, reserving 5 of the egg yolks. In a separate bowl, beat the yolks until light yellow and thick, about 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons Baker's Special or superfine sugar, and beat for 2 minutes. Fold in 2 teaspoons lemon zest.
Fold the yolk mixture into half the white batter. Spoon the white and yellow batters alternately into the pan. Gently pass a thin spatula or knife through the batter in the pan to create a marbled effect. Bake as directed above. Serve with lemon curd and whipped cream.
Reviews
- This angel food cake is amazing! I was so impressed - no one knew it was gluten free!!!
- I have made this cake many times now to rave reviews! I use whole eggs. With the yolks I make lemon curd and make layers filled with curd and whipped cream for icing. I also made custard with the yolks and put that in the layers with cocoa flavored whipped cream icing, drizzled with dark chocolate. The third version uses the custard, whipped cream icing and strawberries in the custard layer as well as decorating the outside. My non-celiac dinner club folks all say it's the best angel food cake they ever had.
- I have CD and have not had angel food cake in years. This was SO good! It was so tender and soft. Even my non-celiac husband couldn't tell this was gluten free! This recipe is definitely worth it!
- This is amazing!!! I have gone gluten free for the sake of my breastfeeding child who reacts terribly to dairy, soy and gluten products. Desserts have been hard to come by and this was perfect! No way you could ever tell it was any different than a regular angel food cake!
- This Angel Food Cake recipe was absolutely amazing! I made it for my sister who is gluten free and I ended up eating it too, even though I'm not gluten free because it was so good. Instead of using actual eggs and having a ton of egg yokes left over, I bought a carton of Just Whites and it worked out perfectly with just a little bit left over! If you want a cake that is moist, light, and doesn't have a weird texture, this recipe is for you!
- This was fantastic. I have never made an Angel Food Cake from scratch before so I had to really read the directions, but it was really easy. It came out soft and moist, better than the box mixes. I used my egg yolks to make the Extra-Rich Creme Caramel recipe as I hate to waste. That was also a 5 star recipe! Kudos for your Angel Food Cake success - thanks also for sharing your savvy use of the extra egg yolks. Happy Baking! Irene @ KAF
- Great recipe. I hadn't ever made a GF angel food cake before, and if I have made a gluten-laden one it was so long ago I don't remember. This was pretty easy and turned out great. Even those who didn't need to eat gluten free enjoyed it and said it tasted great. I used my own flour mix and used KAF's superfine sugar. I almost added KAF's cake enhancer, but wasn't sure how it would affect this recipe, so I skipped it this time. So tasty!!
This is a case where cake enhancer might actually cause the cake to fall?I would not recommend it in this situation as it may not allow the egg whites to gain enough volume when they are beaten. ~Amy
- Just like the real thing. Cannot believe it really worked without any xanthan or guar gum. Used KA GL all purpose flour and put regular sugar in the blender to make it into a fine ;owdery sugar. EXCELLENT WORK PEOPLE. KEEP UP THE GLUTEN-FREE WORK AND GET THE ANGEL FOOD MIX INTO A PACKAGE.




