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 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 45 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 egg whites from 10-11 large eggs
- 3/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 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 can’t eat rice, would arrowroot or tapioca work?
Hi Amy, I’m afraid both of the gf flour blends we’ve tested with this cake use rice flour. Arrowroot or tapioca wouldn’t work on their own; they’d need to be combined with some kind of flour. We’re sorry!
This recipe is amazing! My family requests this cake time and time again and some of them do not require a gluten free diet. Thank you for creating this delicious, light and fluffy gluten free version. This is on repeat for holidays and birthdays. Love it!
Yay! We’re so pleased to hear this recipe has become such a family favorite! Thank you for taking the time to share your kind feedback with us, Katie!
Hi love tour recipes! With this one, with the price of eggs these days, can liquid egg whites be used instead of fresh eggs? Thanks!
Hi Connie, yes carton egg whites will work! We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Made this for friends. I used lemon extract as I didnt have vanilla. I also didn’t have the correct pan so used a bunt pan. The result was amazing. It was more dense. Had homemade whip cream and berries It was a huge hit!!!! So good that after everyone left I made another one to bring to work.
We’re so pleased to hear you loved it enough to make another! It’s good to know those substitutions worked well for you too. Thank you for sharing, Kathy!
This recipe is so good thank you! Should leftovers be stored on the counter or in the fridge?
Hi Kristy, we recommend storing the leftovers at room temperature. Just tightly cover it with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container and it will keep for up to 3 days. We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Made this for my family’s Easter celebration, was a big hit, highly recommend! Followed recipe exactly as written, including using King Arthur Flour’s Measure for Measure GF flour. After years of following a strictly GF diet, it’s always nice to have a baked good that isn’t bone dry or crumbly. 😀 Will make again!
We’re so happy to hear how much of a hit this cake was with the whole family! Thank you for sharing your positive feedback with us, Amy. Happy baking!
How long does it stay fresh? if I make it on Thursday will it still be good for
sunday?. how do you store it for 3 days?
Hi Nancy, yes this cake will keep up to 3 days at room temperature, just tightly cover it with plastic wrap. It will also keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I want to make this for Easter this weekend. How far in advance can I make it and how should I store it? Love all your recipes!
Hi Victoria, we’re sorry we didn’t see your question before the holiday! We recommend storing it at room temperature (tightly covered with plastic wrap) for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months! Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in a layer of foil. We hope it was a hit and you had a great Easter!
Thank you so much for all these delicious options for gluten free baking!! I don’t have a food processor, will using a blender work? Or another idea?
Hi Karen, yes you can use a blender. We hope you enjoy the cake!
I had too many left over eggwhites to I went hunting and found your recipe, and decided to bite the bullet. ( reluctant baker), but your recipe was very easy to follow.
Didn’t have the proper pan but went for it anyway, just a 9×9 silicone.
Just too it out of the oven, it sure looks great. Now I have to wait for it to cool until I can dig in.
Hi Peter, we hope it tasted as good as it looked! We’re so glad you decided to give the recipe a try. Happy baking!
Have always loved this recipe! Just took it out of the oven, and found out my event is cancelled. Any chance this cake freezes well?
We’re so glad this has become a go-to recipe for you, Rhiannon! That’s a bummer about your event, but good news — this cake can be frozen! Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in a layer of foil. It should keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I love this recipe and several more of yours. My family and friends have no clue it’s gluten free!! I was wondering could I use this to make angel food cupcakes without any changes, or except for baking time? I would be baking in the sturdy stand-alone cups vs a cupcake pan with flimsy paper liners.
Hi Deanna, we’re so pleased to hear how much everyone loves the cake! Thank you! We haven’t tried this recipe as cupcakes, but it may be possible. You’d need to leave plenty of room in the cups for the batter to rise as it bakes. We’d imagine it will need only half the baking time, but keep a close eye on them since they will bake much faster than the cake. We’d love to hear how it goes!
Hello could you possible put you recipe s into metric please l really can’t get my head around coups l have them but never seems right !
Hi Joanna, thank you for your feedback! We are gradually updating the recipes to include metric measurements as a second measurement option. We will make note of your interest for this recipe! Happy baking!
Are you supposed to use an angel food cake pan or just a round pan?
Hi Susan, we recommend a 10″ tube pan which may also be referred to as an angel food cake pan. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
2 questions: could you make these into muffins? And can the cake ne frozen? Thanks for any tips or responses?
Hi there, we’ve never tried this recipe in cupcake form, but as long as you allow enough space for the batter to expand in the cupcakes wells and reduce the baking time, it should work! And yes, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in a layer of foil. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
What about almond flour?
Hi Detra, thank you for your question! Unfortunately almond flour won’t work in this cake. The gluten-free flour is important for the correct cake structure.