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
I didn’t have almond extract so I subbed with coconut extract. It tastes like a toasted marshmallow!
We’re glad you liked the recipe! Thanks for sharing the tip about the coconut extract!
I have fresh egg whites frozen in small amounts. If thawed, should this work in your recipe?
Hi Louise, that should work. If thawed in the refrigerator, make sure they then sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before using them in the recipe. Happy baking!
I have a heart shaped vintage pan with tube and removable bottom. It is raw material instead of nonstick. Do you think it will work if I fill it less (8”)? Grease and flower it?
Hi Natalie, thank you for your question! We highly recommend an ungreased 10″ tube pan. If you decide to give your pan a try, it’s typically not recommended to grease a pan for angel food cake because it interferes with the rise. You’d definitely need to use less batter since it’s smaller. We’d love to hear how it goes!
Wow!! This is so exciting!! I just made this for my daughter’s birthday and added confetti in and it looks amazing! Just tasted a bit and it’s so good! Curious if I can wrap this and freeze it whole until the day I am ready to serve it?
Hi Gina, we’re so glad you’re happy with the angel food cake! You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in a layer of foil to preserve its freshness. Happy baking!
Does this recipe need to be adjusted for high altitude? If so, what would you recommend? Thanks!
Hi Wendy, typically when baking at high altitudes it is best to increase the oven temperature by 15-25 degrees F and then decrease the time by 5-8 minutes per 30 minutes of baking time. We hope you enjoy the angel food cake!
I love angel food cake and after celiac diagnosis I struggled to find a recipe that worked. I ended up buying expensive mixes. This is truly the best gf angel food cake. Just made it again for a Fourth of July barbecue and it turned out beautifully. Thanks so much!
We’re so happy to hear that, Grace! Thank you for your kind feedback!
Hi there! I have an almond allergy and wanted to see if I should sub the almond extract or if I am okay to just omit? Thanks!
Hi Madison, you can either just omit the almond extract or sub vanilla extract in its place. We hope you enjoy the angel food cake!
Can this be baked in a loaf pan? The recipe I am using calls for it to be cut into cubes, so it doesn’t need to look pretty. I only have loaf pans or Bundt pan. 🙂
Hi there, unfortunately a Bundt pan won’t work the same because the cake needs to have enough room to expand. A 10-inch tube pan is key for this recipe. Thank you for your question!
Should this be baked on lowest oven rack and not over baked as a box mix indicates?
Hi Carolyn, a low-middle position is usually best and yes, you will want to avoid overbaking. It should be lightly golden when pulled from the oven and then the pan immediately turned upside down onto a cooling rack where it will cool completely. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Im not a great baker so was nervous , I just made the G F angel food cake for my daughters birthday and it was just awesome. Everyone couldn’t believe I made it. They were all raving about it. The cake plate was empty lol !! Can’t get the smile off my face .I’ll never buy one again. Thankyou❤
Wow! We’re so happy the cake was such a success for you! Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
Love, love, ❤️
Finally a gluten free cake that taste yummy!!!
We’re so happy you loved the cake so much, Cathy! Thank you for sharing this positive review!
Delicious! A tad sweeter than we’re used to so I will probably cut back on the sugar slightly next time. I also omitted the almond extract as a personal preference. Beautiful texture!!
This cake came out really good if you use real egg whites, not from a container. I attempted to make this 3 times. The first 2 times did not work due to using egg whites from a container (used 2 different brands), but the 3rd time worked great because I used real egg whites. The cake is a little too sweet in my opinion but we all enjoyed it. Thank you!
Hi Laurel, yes fresh egg whites are always the most reliable. Thank you for sharing your experiences! We’re happy to hear you all enjoyed the cake.
Loved this recipe!!! It was awesome!!! It took me back to my childhood when my grandmother made it for me. It is a little sweet, maybe next time I will decrease the sugar a touch. Do you by chance have the nutritional information on this cake?
Hi Angela, we’re so glad you loved the recipe! Nostalgic bakes are the best! Yes, nutritional information can be found just under the recipe’s notes section, before you get to the comment section. Just click on “Show Nutrition Info.” Thank you for your question and feedback!
Same mistake here but I just took it out of the pan after my second try with whites from eggs and it appears just as the picture!
We’re glad it turned out like the picture, Christie! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Well, that was fabulous! I served with lemon curd, strawberry sauce, and whipped cream (dairy and dairy free). Even a gluten eater liked it plain. Thank you for a delicious recipe.
Hi there! Thanks for sharing your positive experience with us! We appreciate your time in sharing this kind feedback. We’re glad everyone enjoyed the cake!
Hi! I was wondering does a 8inch tube pan work? The store didn’t have any 10 in ones
Hi Samantha, an 8 inch tube pan is probably too small for the batter as it holds less volume. The cake needs enough room to expand. If you want to try the 8 inch pan, you could try pouring in just enough batter to match the fill level you see in our pictures, even if that means leaving excess batter out. The baking time might differ slightly also. We hope this helps!
I just made my first attempt at gluten free angel food cake using this recipe and the bottom was rubbery almost like a crust. Any ideas of the cause?
Hi Tali, that is most likely due to temperature issues. Ovens aren’t always accurate and it may have been a hotter bake. You could try reducing the oven temperature by 25°F and then baking the cake a little longer. Sometimes it can also be caused by inaccurate measurements. Weighing ingredients provides the most accurate results, but if using measuring tools, you could also try a little more flour or a little less liquid to find a good ratio for you. We hope this helps! Happy baking!