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
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
This cake will only work in an angel food cake pan unfortunately!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Can you use almond or another lower-carb flour?
Unfortunately almond flour won’t work. Neither will coconut flour because they both have fat which will prevent the cake from setting up properly.
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.
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!
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!
I’m so glad it turned out for you! Thanks for the comment 🙂
All I could find at the store was GF All Purpose Baking Mix. With this work in substitution of the GF All Purpose Flour?
Unfortunately that won’t work here. Baking mixes have lots of other added ingredients which could throw off the recipe. Sorry about that!
Recommend this recipe. Straight forward instructions and great results. Everyone loved it and couldn’t believe it was gluten free.
Is it okay to leave out the almond extract?
Yes that is totally fine!
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.
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!
Chocolate whipped cream sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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!
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.
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!