Name: Homemade Angel Food Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Ingredients: 12 large egg whites at room temperature; 1 cup cake flour; 1 1/2 cups white sugar, divided; 1 Tbsp. Vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp. sea salt; 1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar; 1 pint cold, heavy whipping cream; 1 cup powdered sugar; 2 tsp. vanilla extract; 3 cups chopped strawberries; 2 Tbsp. sugar

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My Homemade Angel Food Cake recipe is one of those desserts that is truly comes from the heart. This recipe is special to us with it’s spongy, sweet cake that carries a hint of vanilla and the homemade topping laced with sweetened strawberries. It’s a celebration cake of all the is beautiful about life. Save it so the next time you want to celebrate life, you can come back again and again.

For me, food has always been about love. Whether it’s been my grandmothers cooking for me, a big family party with a table of dishes or making something for my little family to just enjoy – love is the main ingredient. So, when it came time to finding a way to honor our son Alexander on his birthday, I knew one of the best ways for me to show my love for him and those around me was to make a homemade Angel Food Cake. He was stillborn on June 20, 2011. As we’ve moved further and further away from the memory of that day, and built this beautiful life on the farm, I’ve been wanting to find a way to celebrate his short life and celebrate the family we are now too. Homemade Angel Food Cake felt like it fit both instances.

Angel Food Cake flavor

My Homemade Angel Food Cake recipe was made for a special person, but the flavor if the cake itself is also special. In fact, it’s a little magical as far as cakes go. It’s sweet and is light although the cake itself still holds up nicely. The texture is soft and fluffy but also dense enough that you actually feel like you are eating a a nice piece of cake.

There’s a hint of vanilla in my Angel Food Cake because I always think most recipes go too light on vanilla. I light to highlight that flavor here and it pairs wonderfully with the fresh strawberries and luscious whipped cream. This cake’s flavor is one for the books, and she’s pretty too!

Making Homemade Angel Food Cake

As far as cakes go, Homemade Angel food Cake is actually one of the easier cake recipes to make. It has very few ingredients. However the trick is that you have to make sure the ingredients are just right.

For instance, you need 12 egg whites at room temperature to make my Homemade Angel Food Cake. No yolks. If you get any yolk in the bowl, make sure you get every bit of it out because it will prevent the cake from whipping together properly.

Additionally, Angel Food Cake has to mix for a little bit to get the consistency correct. I’m generally a fan of using my hand blender, but in this case, the stand blender really works best. I have the 6 quart Kitchenaid Mixer that can be found {HERE}. If you love baking then this is worth the splurge. If you can wait to buy it, buy it on Amazon Prime days!

This recipe also calls for Cream of Tartar, which is byproduct of fermenting grapes into wine. I find it a necessity as the substitutions don’t seem to work as well.

Lastly, but not last, you also need Cake Flour for the Homemade Angel Cake. I find regular flour just does not give you the right texture. And this cake is moist, sweet, sponge-y but also slightly dense!

The Homemade Whipped Cream

Besides making the Homemade Angel Food Cake from scratch, the whipped cream I use on this recipe is also made from scratch. It’s light, fluffy and has a bit of vanilla. Additionally, I stir in strawberries that have had a little sugar on them to help pull out their juices.

The recipe itself is simple. It includes 1 pint of heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. It is the perfect way to top off the Homemade Angel Food Cake. These two really go together to make this dessert magical.

I also used my stand mixer to make the Homemade Whipped Cream, which I don’t often do. However, it the consistency was superior to the whipped cream I get with my hand mixer. It must have something to do with the even mixing applied throughout the process. That said, feel free to use either. Both yield delicious results. I just really love the flavor and the density of this whipped cream and how it sits perfectly on the cake.

Topping my Homemade Angel Food Cake

I topped off my Homemade Angel Food Cake with fresh, sliced strawberries that had been sprinkled with a little bit of sugar and refrigerated. They mixed nicely with the bit I had already stirred into the whipped cream and really finished it off in a beautiful way

I also topped off the cake with basil leaves and daisies. Both of these are edible and are safe for the cake. However, the daisies have a peppery flavor to them and I don’t recommend consuming them if you want to use them. Just place them on the cake to look pretty. On the other hand, the basil makes a lovely component to the angel food cake and I love how its fresh flavor mixes with the sweet strawberries and whipped cream.

Tips for making my Homemade Angel Food Cake

As mentioned above, make sure to use just room temperature egg whites in my Homemade Angel Food Cake recipe. No yolks.
The egg whites need to be mixed at a consistent speed so they don’t deflate. I use the medium speed (exactly in the middle) on my stand mixer. If you’re using a hand mixer also place the speed exactly in the middle.
You may notice the eggs white mix appears bubbly at first. This is okay! It should take about 5 minutes to mix the egg white so that they form soft peaks.
Also as previously mentioned, be sure to make it with Cake Flour.
Do not grease the pan. This is so different from making other cakes or baked goods that I thought I should put it in bold. Greasing the pan will give the batter nothing to hold onto as it rises and it will not be as fluffy. To make Homemade Angel Food Cake it is easiest if you have this tube pan {HERE}.
When the cake comes out of the oven, you want to immediately invert the cake to help prevent it from caving in as it cools. It won’t fall out of the pan. When it completely cools you will need to flip it back over and use a knife around the edges to get it to properly release from the pan.
You can top with the whipped cream once the cake is at room temperature. Then place it in the refrigerator before serving.
To get the best results with the whipped cream, put the mixing bowl and the mixing blades in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before whipping it together.

Storing and saving

I do not recommend making my Homemade Angel Food Cake more than a few hours in advance. I always top it with whipped cream right before guests arrive and then place it in the fridge during dinner. If you hold off on topping it with the whipped cream, you can keep it on the counter.

To save the angel food cake, place it on a plate and lightly cover it with plastic wrap. I like to put toothpicks in the cake itself to keep the plastic wrap from touching the cake or the whipped cream. Leftovers will save for about two days in the refrigerator.

You can make the Whipped Cream a few hours in advance as well as long as you store it covered in the refrigerator. You can save it for about 1 day afterwards too. However, I end up using most of it on the cake.

Sweet dessert ideas

If you’re looking for other sweet, summer dessert ideas or just a few good dessert ideas in general, try these ones:

Mini Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cakes {HERE}
No Bake Chocolate Lasagna {HERE}
Red White & Blue Berry Trifle {HERE}
Made from Scratch White Cake with Buttercream Frosting {HERE}
Mini Blackberry Lavender Lemon Ice Box Cakes {HERE}

Thank you so much for visiting today, friends. I hope you try my Homemade Angel Food Cake recipe with made from scratch whipped cream and strawberry topping and love it as much as we do. You can find the full, printable recipe below. I hope you come back again!