Fluffy Angel Food Cake with creamy topping and fresh berries
Angel Food Cake
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Ingredients
  • 1 1/4 cup – Sifted Swans Down Cake Flour
  • 1/2 cup – granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons – cream of tartar
  • 1/4 teaspoons – salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon – almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon – vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups (about 12) – egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1 1/3 cups – granulated sugar
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375º.
  2. Sift Swans Down® Cake Flour, then lightly spoon into measuring cup for 1 ¼ cups. Add ½ cup sugar, and sift four times.
  3. In a separate, very large bowl, combine egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and flavorings. Beat at high speed of electric mixer until moist soft peaks form. Add balance of sugar in 4 additions, beating until blended after each addition. Sift in flour mixture in 4 additions, folding in with large spoon; turn bowl often.
  4. Pour into ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake upside down in its pan, on a cake rack (or placed on an upside-down funnel or heatproof bottle) for about 1 hour or until comfortable for handling.

KITCHEN TIPS:
Use only metal or glass mixing bowls when making Angel Food Cake. Plastic or ceramic bowls retain oils which will disturb the rising process.

When beating egg whites try not to under beat or over beat; egg whites should be stiff but not dry. To prevent air pockets, after filling your angel food cake pan with batter simply use your spatula to press batter into sides and bottom of pan. Or you can cut through batter with a knife to remove air bubbles.

Reviews
  • JC says:

    Can you use food purpose citric acid in place of the cream of tartar ? Anyone know the conversion ?

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi JC, You can substitute an equal amount, 1:1, of citric acid for cream of tartar in this recipe as citric acid coagulates the egg proteins in the same way cream of tartar would. It’s a great alternative ingredient if you don’t have cream of tartar on hand. Happy baking!

  • Leslie Summers says:

    Can this cake be made ahead of time to be filled and frosted on the day of the event?

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Leslie, You you can bake and freeze ahead of time. Wrap the cake well in plastic wrap then with foil. Allow it to defrost completely before frosting. Happy baking!

  • Dominick Ferrara says:

    I think the sugar if off on this recipe. (1/2 cup?) Directions say to add 1/2 cup and then add balance of sugar later. What balance? Found an old recipe and it says 1 1/2 cups

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Dominick, Thank you for the inquiry. Sugar is listed twice in the ingredient list. It is listed second as 1/2 cup, then again as the last ingredient as 1 1/3 cup. The 1 1/3 cup is the balance of sugar. Happy baking!

  • Leona says:

    I have tried making angel food cakes using other flour as Swansdown is not available in Can. but they never turn out .Swansdown is a must .
    Suggestions for left over yolks????

  • Therese says:

    Have you ever weighed the egg whites? If so, what would be the amount of grams for the Angel food cake recipe. As not all eggs weigh the same.

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Theresa, Great question. Unfortunately we do not have that information for this recipe. It’s a suggestion we can make to The Kitchen though. Happy baking!

  • Teresa Colvin says:

    Can you reduce the sugar or use a sugar sub? I have sugar issues and would love to have an angel food cake for special occasions.

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Teresa, You can bake Angel Food Cake using a sugar substitute. We recommend you contact your preferred sugar substitute manufacturer for the sugar conversion. We’d love to know how it comes out. Come back and let us know. Happy baking!

  • Deborah says:

    I just received my first case of swans & can’t wait to get baking with it. I have a stand mixer and a lot of new Nordic ware bakeware. Let’s dance! ???❤️?

  • Sewqueen says:

    Will liquid egg whites work?

  • E J Riggs says:

    This was our favorite cakes on the farm. Past on to my older sister who won purple and blue ribbons at the County fair and the State fair. Past on to me and it become favorite at bake sales and family gatherings. My discover that in order to feed family at reunions she used an oblong pan, and that has been used all this many years. We only use a spongecake fork to tear the cake in slices.

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi EJ, Thanks for sharing your story. The Swans Down Angel Food Cake is certainly a “winner”! We love to hear how cherished recipes are passed down from generation to generation, and are still the family favorite! Happy baking!

  • Ginger Kelly says:

    I can’t thank you enough for bringing this back. My sweet momma and Nana both used a whisk. I was able to purchase a hand mixer and carried on this tradition with my children. Now it’s my grandchildren’s turn. Thank you sooooo very much!!!!!

  • Sallie says:

    Made this decades ago and have longed for the recipe so could make again. Thank you with all my heart for publishing it here. My husband has asked me many times to make it and now I can. It is berry season but this cake needs nothing but to be enjoyed!

  • Ginger Kelly says:

    This looks like the one that was on the box years ago! Our tradition was this cake for each child’s 1st birthday and their first taste of sugar! We frosted it with 7 minute frosting. You have no idea how happy I am to have this again as we never wrote it down. Thank you for this recipe and my wonderful memories!!

  • Karen Bell says:

    I learned how to bake as a child using a swans down paperback recipe book! Sadly it was lost years ago.

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Karen, Contact our Consumer Affairs Department, they may have a scanned copy that they can send to you. 1 – (800) 535-1961 Happy Baking!

  • Janice Anne Allison says:

    I’m 73 years old, and all during my childhood, my Mother made this recipe for all of our birthdays! Instead of an electric mixer, she would use a wire whip (which I still have), to beat the egg whites by hand. Those Angel Food Cakes are etched in my memory, and they were the BEST! She would ice with a thin layer of powdered sugar frosting, and always had homemade (turned by hand) Ice Cream with it! My daughter is 51 years old this week, and she requested this Angel Food Cake with a thin layer of powdered sugar frosting for her birthday. The tradition lives on!

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Janice, Thank you for sharing your wonderful memory. This is certainly a delicious cake. We’re proud to have it as part of your family tradition. Happy baking!

  • Lewellyn Gregory says:

    Could I use all vanilla extract instead of almond? My granddaughter is allergic to nuts or anything made with them

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Lewellyn, Of course, or you can omit it all together. It will net in a slightly different flavor, but should be just fine. Happy baking!

  • Leslie says:

    I’ve baked this Angel food cake recipe many times over the past 3 decades. I lost the recipe for a while then found it again online. While it was lost, I tried other recipes but have found that the Swans down recipe is the only Angel food cake recipe worth baking. It really is perfect every time. Please put the recipe on the box again so that a new generation can experience this heavenly cake. Thanks Swans Down!

  • Pat Oglesby says:

    If you have access to farm fresh eggs they make the best ever angel food cake !

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Pat, we agree. Always best to use the finest, freshest ingredients available. Happy baking!

  • Barb says:

    Followed the directions to a ‘T’ and it is super moist. Love love love it !!

  • Mary says:

    Do u leave cake in pan after baking for 1 hour??

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Mary, Yes. Keep the cake in the pan while cooling. Ideally it should be upside-down while cooling, as the fluffy, sponginess doesn’t “set” until it cools. You can place the upside-down cake in its pan onto an upside-down funnel or a heat-proof bottle.

  • Healthtipsing.Com says:

    Gently spoon the batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan. Bake at 275 for 30 minutes, then increase the heat to 325 and bake for another 30 minutes, until golden on top and the cracks in the top are relatively dry.

  • Paul Barina says:

    We’ve been baking this recipe for 4 generations since at least the 1950s (and probably before). It used to be on the box, taking it off the box was a mistake IMHO. It should be returned to the box as it’s outstanding. Be sure everything is perfectly clean and follow the recipe. I’ve tried other brands of cake flour and always come back to Swan’s Down.

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Paul, we love hearing about Swans Down recipes passed down through the generations. We’ll pass along your thoughts about the box. Happy baking!

  • Lonnie Dale Groendes says:

    Best Angel Food Cake you’ll ever eat – or serve! You’ll never buy another bakery Angel Food cake.

  • Karen says:

    Have made many angel food cakes from scratch and this is my fav recipe! Flavor is amazing, and the texture and moisture are perfect! ?

  • Katrina says:

    This was my first time making an Angel Food cake. It turned out perfect. Actually the best I ever had. Light, tender and fluffy. Absolute Perfection!

  • Betty Stacy says:

    Recipe for a yellow sponge cake using 12 egg yolks

    • Swans Down says:

      Hi Betty, please stay tuned to our site. We are working on a yellow sponge cake recipe for you. 🙂

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