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!
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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
Sara Burns says
I can’t use white sugar. Do you know if coconut sugar would substitute for this recipe. I miss my grandmother’s angel food cake and would love to have it again.
Erin Collins says
Unfortunately this recipe will only with with white sugar. The texture won’t turn out with coconut sugar!
Sarah says
Would this work with just a hand mixer? I am not a baker and don’t have a stand mixer.
Erin Collins says
Yes! You’ll need to use a very large bowl and be sure to mix for long enough to get the right consistency.
Stacia says
This is a great recipe. I used Compliments gluten free flour in the recipe. I will make it again.
Megan Cofield says
AMAZING! This was my first try at angel food cake and it turned out perfect! You would NEVER know it was gluten free too! Happy people all around! Saving this!
Kimberly says
This cake came out amazing! I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free Baking Flour. I have had Celiac disease for almost 2 years, and I have only attempted to bake a few things gluten free. Since they never come out good, I have avoided it for the most part. This angel food cake is great – I tastes like the ones I used to make with gluten. Thank you for this recipe! My 12 year old son loved it too, and he doesn’t usually like any type of cake.
Lauren says
So good! Thank you! I will never buy another frozen gluten free angel food cake from the grocery store. I used King Arthur all purpose baking mix. Followed recipe exactly. Husband and friends who are not celiac were just as happy as I was.
Sherrie says
Your recipe is amazing! Made this today for my daughter’s 19th birthday. Angel food cake is her favorite and she hasn’t had it since being diagnosed with celiac disease a little over a year ago. This is the BEST angel food cake I’ve ever had!
Thank you!!!!
Karleen Bardal says
Dear Erin:
I am so happy to have found you as a resource online. The first recipe I tried was the pizza dough. Then the angel food cake. Both recipes are turned out great. The recipes are well explained and easy to follow. You are obviously very bright, articulate and talented in your field. I (grew up in a Ukrainian farm family of cookers, creators and canners!!) and I feed a house full with allergies and now gluten intolerances and celiacs. Finding specialty recipes for those with celiacs/allergies/intolerances that consistently turn out well, that are easy to follow and are also adaptable is an anomoly. You are simply outstanding and I am so grateful to have you as a resource. Thank you.
Christina R says
This was delicious! You would have NO idea that it was GF. Awesome recipe.
Erin Collins says
I’m so glad it turned out for you! 🙂
Susan Tibbetts says
Can you substitute Monk fruit sweetner/sugar for the regular sugar?
Erin Collins says
I don’t think that will work unfortunately!
Lois says
Love, love, love this cake.
Deby Petz says
Naturallyblessed@att.net. Deby loves this recipe 5 stars As it was excellent! Flaky, light, & fresh daily! Lasted several days as well also!
Linda McLean says
Recipe #3 of Erins’ that I have tried …. all three 100% perfect flavor, texture, representation of ‘real food.’
When looking for a specific GF recipe, I will definitely continue to try your recipes first!
Erin Collins says
I’m so glad you like the recipes! Thanks for the comment!
Ellen says
Made this for my dad today for Father’s Day – after many years of boxed Angel Food cake mixes (both GF and non-GF) this was the first time I’ve ever attempted one from scratch. I used the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, and served it with whipped cream and strawberries – it turned out practically perfect in every way! I’ve never left a review for a recipe before, but I’ve also never had a gluten free baking endeavor go as well as this one did. Will be bookmarking this for future use, and am looking forward to trying some of your other recipes!
Elizabeth says
This came out absolutely perfect! It tastes amazing too! I didn’t need to make any changes for high altitude and I used the Cup4Cup brand gf flour and followed your recipe exactly. Thank you so very much for this recipe! It’s definitely a keeper!