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!
UPDATED April 2018: 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 berries and whipped cream. I’ve updated the recipe the way I’ve been making it lately with easier-to-find ingredients. 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 strawberries 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 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 all. I hope it is helpful!
1. In the bowl of a food processor, process the flours 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 the 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 and beat until starting to foam.
5. Add the vanilla 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 ¼ a cup at a time with a spatula. Do this carefully and slowly so you don’t deflate the egg whites. This is the key to good angel food cake!
9. Scoop in a ungreased, 10-inch round pan.
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 knife along the edges of the pan and carefully plate the cake. Enjoy!
CLICK TO PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER!
Hungry for more? Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter for all of the latest updates.
Perfect Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups egg whites, from 10-11 large eggs
- ¾ cup gluten-free all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ¼ 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. In the bowl of a food processor, process the flour, cornstarch and powdered sugar together until smooth, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
- 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.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high until starting to foam then add the salt and cream of tartar.
- Add the vanilla and almond extract and continue whipping on high speed.
- Add the granulated sugar slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time to the egg whites while they are whipping.Continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
- Slowly fold in the dry ingredients ⅓ at a time with a spatula. Do this carefully and slowly so you don't deflate the egg whites. (This is the key to good angel food cake.) Scoop into a ungreased 10-inch round pan.
- Bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes until lightly golden. Immediately invert pan onto a cooling rack when you remove it from the oven. Cool completely then run a knife along the edges of the pan and carefully plate the cake. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Recipe Source: Inspired by King Arthur Flour
charlie says
Hello, just wondering if it is descry that I use an angle food cake pan to bake this cake in? Or can. bake it in a regular round baking dish?
Thank-you,
Charlie
Erin Collins says
This cake will only work in an angel food cake pan unfortunately!
Trish F. says
A friend of mine has multiple food sensitiviies,, including gluten and corn. I have a workaround solution for the confectioner’s sugar. Can you tell me what the 1/4 cup of corn starch does in this recipe? Can you offer any substitutions? I’d love to make this for her. Thank you.
Erin Collins says
The cornstarch creates a lighter flour blend so you have a light and fluffy cake. You can substitute another starch like potato starch (not potato flour) or tapioca starch if you like.
Christine says
This cake is beyond tasty!! It’s light and airy and the flavor is perfect! I made this cake after I tried a different recipe. It was easy to make and after running a plastic icing spreader (the long narrow type) I turned the cake over and the cake just jumped out! No issues!! I served it with macerated strawberries and whipped cream. I seriously could have eaten at least half the cake!! My hubs loved it too. I sent a pic to my daughter and my granddaughter was jealous that we had it and they didn’t. During this pandemic, I have been baking to tame my stress level. When I can go visit them 3 hours away, I will make another cake and give the entire cake to her. I’m the on,y one with Celiac Disease but my granddaughter loves everything I make and doesn’t think using wheat flour would make it better. This cake will be made the rest of my life as the only angel food cake that has it all!! Thank you for the recipe!! I used Better Batter Gluten Free Flour and it worked beautifully!! They are making another flour that doesn’t contain the top 8 allergens.
Theresa Capri says
I am going to try to make this again. I have made a number of angel food cakes, but this was my first gluten free attempt. I admiringly pulled it out of the oven after 37 minutes, the delectable smell wafting through the house, inverted it, my heart swelling in awe, and rushed outside to tell my husband that I was sooo excited because this was the most beautiful angel food cake I had ever made, It had risen about 2 inches above the top of the pan and was perfectly golden fluffiness. When I came back upstairs to admire it again, my pride was deflated when I saw it had shriveled up, hanging around the neck of the bottle used for inverting….it fell out of the pan! I always check for absolutely no specks of grease/oil on the angel food cake pan. I did use the rice flour/tapioca starch/potato starch as noted at the bottom of the recipe in place of corn starch and gluten free flour. I did 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond extract. Despite this falling out of the pan, the taste was really good, I will honestly say though, it was the best laugh I had all day. If it would just have stayed in the pan, it would have been perfect and a 5 star. I will try this again and report back if I have a different outcome.
Toni says
Can you use almond or another lower-carb flour?
Erin Collins says
Unfortunately almond flour won’t work. Neither will coconut flour because they both have fat which will prevent the cake from setting up properly.
Emily says
Can you use a 9×13 pan for this recipe? I don’t have an angel food cake pan just because I don’t make it enough to warrant buying one.
Erin Collins says
You actually have to have an angel food cake pan for this recipe. It needs the sides and shape of the pan to rise properly, even a bundt pan won’t work. Sorry about that!
Ann says
I have never left a review, although I use the internet extensively for recipe ideas. But I had to for this recipe. Sooo delicious! Light, springy, PERFECT angel food cake. And GF! I used Bob’s Red Mill 1to1 and not 3v3n the Non GF eaters in the house could tell the difference. Thank you!
Erin Collins says
I’m so glad it turned out for you! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Molly says
All I could find at the store was GF All Purpose Baking Mix. With this work in substitution of the GF All Purpose Flour?
Erin Collins says
Unfortunately that won’t work here. Baking mixes have lots of other added ingredients which could throw off the recipe. Sorry about that!
Wendy says
Recommend this recipe. Straight forward instructions and great results. Everyone loved it and couldn’t believe it was gluten free.
Madi says
Is it okay to leave out the almond extract?
Erin Collins says
Yes that is totally fine!
Bonnie says
I made this for my dad’s 92nd birthday.. I used King Arthur All Purpose GF Flour and egg whites from carton. I used a sifter instead of food processor to blend flour, cornstarch and sugar. I might run it through sifter two-three times next time. ( I used sifter because I was lazy and didn’t want to dirty/clean food processor). Also, used hand mixer to whip egg whites.. Great cake, I would make again.
Deanna says
Made this for the first time today. My daughter was diagnosed with gluten intolerance a few years back and we have all missed angel food cake. This cake came out perfect! It was light and fluffy and tasted fantastic! We enjoyed it with homemade chocolate whipped cream and some fresh strawberries. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Erin Collins says
Chocolate whipped cream sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Nancy says
Hello Erin,
So glad I found your recipe! You’ve probably heard gluten free journeys from many people so I ‘ll spare you. I do wish we were friends ( and I get a cake as a gift) you’re a super sweetgal. I wish I had this 20 + years ago! Keep up the good work and thanks for all you do!
Deborah Lefebvre says
I can hardly wait to try this! Newly diagnosed I’m looking for GF versions of everything … and like you, this was the birthday cake from my childhood except we had it frosted with chocolate whipped cream. Thank you.
Shelly says
Delicious! Thank you for this recipe. The cake was high, golden brown, and tasty. This recipe is a keeper. I did use egg whites from a carton.. The only ingredient was egg whites, no colors, preservatives, or any other additives.
Thank you!