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Angel food cake doesn’t require many ingredients. To get the perfect fluffy texture and flavor, you need to follow the exact recipe. That means no swapping cake flour for whole wheat flour or cutting down on eggs.
The perfect egg temperature for angel food cake is about 60 degrees. Eggs that are too cold won’t whip as well, so take a dozen eggs out of the refrigerator about an hour before you bake.
Many angel food pans have little legs on top, to support them while the cake cools. If your pan doesn’t have legs, you turn it upside down, amd put the end of the inner tube over a bottle. Once the cake is fully cooled, it will support itself when you remove it from the pan.
Not Whipping the Egg Whites Correctly
Without yeast to act as a leavening agent, an angel food cake relies completely on the egg whites to rise. You want to whip the whites just until they form soft peaks; whipping too much will make the cake chewy and dense. (No good!) By the way, check out these dreamy desserts you can make with angel food cake, too.
When you go to dump the dry ingredients into your egg whites, it’s tempting to start stirring, the same way you would with any other cake batter. But instead, fold the flour into the whites, gently turning the mixture over with a rubber spatula.
New to this technique? Learn how to fold ingredients (it’s easy!).
Sounds crazy, but it’s true! In order for the angel food cake to rise properly, it needs to be able to cling to the sides of the pan. If your pan is greased, the batter won’t be able to do that.
Not Using a Special Angel Food Cake Pan
If you’re serious about angel food cake, you need to invest in the proper mold like this angel food cake pan. Making this cake in a regular cake tin or even a Bundt pan will not yield the same airy results.
We’re all guilty of this one. You want to check on the cake so you open the oven door every couple of minutes… but those changes in temperature can cause your cake to cook unevenly or even collapse. If you’re really tempted to peek while making this chocolate angel cake, use the oven light.
Equipment Expert’s Top Pick for Tube Pans
FAQ
What are the feet on a tube pan for?
How do you cool an angel food cake in a pan without feet?
What is special about an angel food cake pan?