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
Excellent recipe. We’ll worth the time and effort, so thanks for this. Turned out better than I thought it would for me. (I’m not the best in the kitchen) I have wasted many a day trying gluten free recipes to no avail some days. But this one I will definitely make again and again. My husband it.
Hi Roxanne, we’re so happy to hear this recipe went so well, and that you and your husband enjoyed the dessert. Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us!
Do you have to use the Bundt type pan with the thing in the middle or can it just be a solid round pan?
Hi Katie, we recommend a 10-inch round angel food cake pan or tube pan. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Recipe was absolutely perfect!
Yay! So glad you loved it, Andrew! Thank you for sharing your feedback with us!
Amazing. Angel food cake is my favorite and you’d have no idea this is gluten free! Perfect taste and texture with no crazy ingredients!! Keeping this forever!!!!
Yay! We’re so happy to hear you found the recipe to be such a keeper! Thank you for your kind feedback, Erin!
When you say “for the dry ingredients” in your notes about what the recipe used to be, is that just the flour substitute or flour and cornstarch?
Hi Emily, the recipe used to use those ingredients in place of the gf flour and cornstarch. We hope you enjoy the cake!
This was the best angel food cake I have ever eaten in my entire life my family raved over it. It was worth the time.
I was wondering, do you think this would work as cupcakes? I was thinking I could make angel food cupcakes next time just to have something little cute and different, but didn’t know if the recipe would need to be altered for any reason obviously we wouldn’t turn it upside down, so I wasn’t sure. Hopefully someone can answer.?
Hi Rhonda, we’re so pleased to hear how much of a hit the recipe was with the whole family! Erin actually recently created a gluten-free angel food cake cupcake recipe. It’s found exclusively in her new Let’s Bake Gluten-Free Volume 2 cookbook! Happy baking!
After many failed attempts at gf baking, this recipe has me hooked. It was, as the title suggests, perfect. Light, fluffy, sweet, and perfect with strawberries/basil and whipped cream. I’m excited to try another…
Thank you for sharing your positive baking experience with us, Christine! We’re so happy to hear the recipe went so well! Happy baking!
I didn’t grow up with angel food cake, so making this recipe was the first time I’d tried it. My (non-celiac) husband even said it was AMAZING! Had it with fresh strawberries and ice cream. Oh my gosh, thanks for this great recipe! FYI the wording in the instructions does not say tube pan, just 10-inch pan, which may be confusing to some.
Hi Rosalie, we’re so pleased to hear both you and your husband loved the recipe so much. Thank you for your feedback. Happy baking!
Has anyone added crushed pineapple to the batter and if the baking time should be adjusted.
Hi Lisa, we wouldn’t recommend adding crushed pineapple to this batter since it has a delicate structure, but we do have this recipe for gluten-free pineapple upside down cake that you may enjoy!
Easy recipe and excellent taste! Omitted the almond extract and it turned out perfectly!
We’re so pleased that you enjoyed the angel food cake so much! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive baking experience with us!
Hey Erin. Do you thing this would work as cupcakes? I’ve made it before as per the recipe and it was so good!
Hi Katelyn, we’re so pleased you enjoyed this recipe! We haven’t tried to make this into 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!
Hi. I’m allergic to corn. Will it work if I use arrowroot or tapioca starch instead?
Hi Louise, good question! Either tapioca starch or arrowroot will work. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Just a couple questions. Is powdered sugar the same as icing sugar? And can I use berry sugar, rather than grinding down granulated sugar?
Thank you. Making this for my daughter birthday this weekend. It sounds perfect.
Hi Yvonne, yes powdered sugar and icing sugar are the same thing. Berry sugar should work in place of grinding down the granulated sugar too. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I made this recipe for a good friend’s birthday. I let my friends & family choose what kind of cake, and this was her favorite. I never cared a lot for store bought angel food cake, but this is nothing like that!! It’s easier than I expected, and it’s incredibly delicious!! I made stabilized whipped cream with cream cheese & fruit compote to go with it. I also had fresh berries to garnish. Everyone loved it, and a couple of the others in the friend group chose it, too. My husband doesn’t need gluten-free, but he chose it for hus 60th birthday. This is an awesome recipe!! Store bought doesn’t compare!!
Wow! We’re so happy to hear the recipe has been such a hit! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with us, Nina. Happy baking!
I had to try this recipe after making the Millionaire Shortbread, which we loved. This was also lovely and with all of the tips & instructions easy to make. The outside was a bit damp, as if it sweated while it cooled in the pan, but it quickly dried out. The flavor & texture are great. I tried to watch the video, but the ads kept interrupting & cutting off the video feed. I guess that’s a fair price to pay for your sharing such wonderful gluten free recipes. Thank you!
Hi Patti, we’re so glad you enjoyed both this recipe and the millionaire shortbread! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. Happy baking!
Hi! Can I make this in a bundt pan? Thanks so much!☺️
Hi Sara, unfortunately a Bundt pan won’t work with this cake. You really need a 10-inch tube pan for it to work correctly. Thank you for your question!
What can I use to substitute the almond extract, I’m allergic. Double the vanilla? Or would you recommend something else?
Hi Erin, yes you can replace the almond extract with more vanilla. We hope you enjoy the cake!