Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake! The best-tasting angel food cake you’ll ever eat. Light, fluffy and perfect for your favorite desserts. Nobody will ever guess it’s gluten-free!
Hundreds of reviewers agree this is the most delicious gluten-free angel food cake recipe around! This tried-and-true recipe was originally published in 2013 and is one my #1 recipes today.
UPDATED June 2022: This is still my go-to recipe for angel food cake! People are always amazed this is gluten-free. I like using it in desserts like trifle or serving it on it’s own with fresh berries and whipped cream. Enjoy!
To me, angel food cake is more than just a vehicle for strawberries and cream.
Angel food cake is what my Mom and I would make for birthdays every year. She would mix sprinkles into the batter and top it with my Grandma’s 7-minute frosting.
If you’ve never had 7-minute frosting, imagine a cross between a fresh marshmallow and whipped cream. It is pure heaven on fluffy angel food cake!
Angel food cake is also what gets broken up to make my very favorite Gluten-Free Strawberry Trifle. That trifle is probably my favorite summer dessert of all time.
Every year my husband’s Grandma would make cherry and whipped cream fruit filled angel food cake for my mother-in-law’s birthday. I dearly love that cake too!
And though it be humble, I do love the classic angel food cake with fresh fruit and whipped cream.
Since angel food cake is the key to so many favorite desserts, I need to have perfect gluten-free angel food cake in my life! This recipe is the one.
Since angel food cake gets it’s structure from egg whites, it is really easy to make gluten-free.
It is moist and light with great height and flavor. I actually love this cake because it tastes a little more special than the regular box cake everyone is used to eating.
You also might like this gluten-free pound cake. Check out this full collection of gluten-free cake recipes!
For more tried-and-true recipes try this gluten-free pizza crust and gluten-free banana bread.
You can tell this cake is made from scratch, making it extra delicious. But nobody will ever guess it’s gluten-free.
Since there are a few steps I’ve made a visual tutorial for you with step by step photos. I hope it is helpful!
How to Make Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake
1. In the bowl of a food processor, process the gluten-free flour, cornstarch, and powdered sugar together until smooth, about 30 seconds.
2. Sift the flour/powdered sugar mixture into a bowl and set aside.
3. Process the granulated sugar slightly, about 5-7 pulses. You don’t want to turn it into powdered sugar, just a little finer than it is normally. Set aside.
4. Place egg whites (that should have sat at room temperature for at least 30 minutes) in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the salt and cream of tartar. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until starting to foam and soft peaks form. You can also use a hand mixer.
Tip: You can separate the egg whites from the egg yolks or simply buy carton egg whites for this recipe.
5. Add the pure vanilla extract and almond extract and continue whipping on high speed.
6. Add the granulated sugar slowly, about 2 tablespoon at a time to the egg whites while they are whipping.
7. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
8. Slowly fold in the dry ingredients 1/4 a cup at a time with a rubber spatula. Do this carefully and slowly so you don’t deflate the egg whites. This is the key to good traditional angel food cake!
9. Spread the angel food cake batter in a ungreased, 10-inch round angel food cake pan.
Tip: An ungreased 10-inch tube pan is key for this recipe. You need a special round angel food pan for best results so the cake can have enough room to expand. Unfortunately a bundt pan won’t work the same.
10. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes until lightly golden. Immediately invert pan onto a cooling rack when you remove it from the oven. Cool completely then run a serrated knife along the edges of the pan and carefully transfer the cake to a serving plate. Enjoy!
Original photo from 2013! I thought the blue plate was so cool – ha!
You could also top this angel food cake with gluten-free raspberry coulis.
More Gluten-Free Recipes
I hope you like this gluten-free angel food cake recipe as much as we do! If you try it be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Perfect Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (330g) egg whites from 10-11 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (112g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1/4 cup (32g) cornstarch
- 3/4 cup (90g) powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (175g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Separate the egg whites and allow them to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, process the gluten-free flour, cornstarch and powdered sugar together until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
- Add the granulated sugar to the food processor or blender and pulse 5-7 times. You don’t want to turn it into powdered sugar, just a little finer than it is normally. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until starting to foam, then add the salt and cream of tartar.
- Add the vanilla extract and almond extract and continue whipping on high speed.
- With the mixer running on high, slowly add the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all the sugar is added and the mixture is glossy with soft peaks.
- Using a rubber spatula, slowly fold in the flour mixture, ⅓ at a time. Do this carefully and slowly so you don’t deflate the egg whites. (This is the key to a good angel food cake.) Scoop into an ungreased 10-inch round pan.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until lightly golden.
- Remove the cake from the oven and immediately flip the cake upside down onto a wire rack. Cool the cake completely.
- Once cooled, run a thin knife around the edge of the cake and gently tap the pan on the counter until the cake releases. Slice with a sharp serrated knife and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Source: Inspired by King Arthur Flour
This angel food cake is crazy delicious! It’s light, soft, fluffy and we love it! No one in my family complains of it tasting gluten free, which they do regularly with other foods I make. I’ve made it several times, and it’s well worth the effort! Plus it’s not really difficult. Make it, you won’t regret it!
Has anyone else ever had an angel food cake fall out of the pan on its own when you turned it upside down? I suspect, even though it was brown on the top that it needed more than 45 minutes…
Hi Verna, thank you for your question! How was the texture of the cake once it was done cooling? If it still seemed underbaked once it had time to set, it sounds like it could have used more bake time. Oven temperature variations, humidity, altitude, and other factors can cause the need for bake time adjustments. We’re sorry you had this experience!
Made this cake this weekend and it turned out great! However, it was a bit too sweet for my taste. If I wanted to cut down on sugar would you suggest cutting a bit of the granulated or the powdered sugar? How much do you think I could get away with cutting? Thanks so much!
Hi Maggie, we’re so glad it turned out well! We haven’t tried reducing the sugar content in this recipe. The sugar adds needed structure to this kind of cake so any adjustment to the measurements could impact the final results. Sometimes readers share their experiments with sugar alternatives in the comment section. There might be some ideas hidden in this section that could help. Thanks for your question!
I have a corn allergy. Have you ever tried a substitute for corn starch? Wondering if arrowroot would work?
Arrowroot or tapioca starch should work in place of the cornstarch. Thanks for your question, Lauren!
Can this be made with almond flour
Hi Joan, thank you for your question! Unfortunately almond flour won’t work here. The gluten-free flour is important for the correct cake structure.
Would you by chance have a vegan angel food cake recipe? I have developed a significant reaction to egg whites and I have tried 8 times with no success to make a gf/ef angel food cake. I have been making this cake since I was 10, it is my absolute favorite (I don’t even share it!). But since having to go egg free I cannot get this to work. I have tried ener-g egg replacer and Orgran (this is not a good product at all) and aquafaba. I got it took beat up beautifully and then at about the 35 minute mark it started flowing over and then started bubbling like a cauldron! Have NEVER seen that before. If you have any thoughts, I would love to hear them.
Thanks,
Debbie
Hi Debbie, that’s a tough one as angel food cake typically gets its structure from egg whites. Unfortunately, there aren’t any good substitutions for the egg whites which is definitely a bummer. We’re sorry we don’t have any ideas for how to make a successful vegan version. Thank you for your question!
I used this recipe for mini gf angel food cakes (12 to a pan.) They are adorable and will be great for a gf dessert bar at an upcoming party. (The recipe made 2 dozen and baking time was reduced to 18 mins.) Would post a photo but not sure how.
We love that idea, Susan! Thank you so much for sharing your tips for making mini versions of this angel food cake!
In the notes, you mentioned using brown rice, flour, tapioca, starch, and potato starch to substitute for the dry ingredients. so my question is does this combination include the all purpose, flour and the cornstarch or just the gluten-free flour portion?
So if I use the brown rice, flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch, do I still have to add the cornstarch?
Thank you!:D
Hi Jennifer, you would exclude the cornstarch as you have other thickeners working in your dry ingredients. Thank you for your question! We hope you enjoy the angel food cake!
Any way I could use a sugar alternative? I can’t do refined sugars.
Hi Kate, we haven’t tried any sugar substitutes with this recipe. The sugar adds needed structure to this kind of cake so any adjustment could impact the final results. Sometimes readers share their experiments with sugar alternatives in the comment section. There might be some ideas hidden in this section that could help. Thanks for your question!
I love this recipe so much. I feel like I am flying and or dreaming. I wish I could make this every day of my life.
We’re so happy to hear you loved the angel food cake, Kaitlyn! Thanks for sharing!
Made the gluten free angel food cake turned out lovely. Could you make this cake chocolate?
We’re so glad you enjoyed the cake, Janice! We haven’t tried turning it into a chocolate angel food cake before. Adding chocolate may add dryness to the cake and impact other ingredients. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Good morning
I have been unable to find cream of tartar, is there something I can substitute for this?
Hi Laura, the cream of tartar is important for the cake’s light, fluffy texture. We haven’t tried this recipe without it, but some say you can substitute lemon juice or white vinegar for cream of tartar. These substitutions might change the texture of the cake. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
This is the best! I use Cup4Cup gluten free flour from Walmart. This cake turns out perfectly every time! I make this cake at least once a week. Thank you for sharing this recipe
Would this recipe work well baked using two loaf pans instead of the special angel food cake pan? Can parchment paper be used to line the ungreased pans? I’m looking up recipes for a special treat for someone recently requiring a gluten-free diet. Thanks!
Hi Ann, an ungreased 10-inch tube pan is key for this recipe. A special round angel food pan is needed for best results so the cake can have enough room to expand. Unfortunately loaf pans won’t work the same. Thank you for your questions!
Can I somehow make this without a food processor? I don’t have really any kitchen gadgets. Except for a small thing I can use for whipping up cream or egg whites.
Yes you can just whisk the dry ingredients together no problem!