This extra fluffy, cloud-like Angel Food Cake is so dreamy and delightful. Take the classic cake up a notch by dressing it up with swirls of blueberry whipped cream and serving with fresh berries.
A bouncy Angel Food Cake comes down to a few important steps. First, sift the dry ingredients multiple times to eliminate all lumps and aerate the flour and sugar. Second, gradually add the sugar into the egg whites and whip until thick, billowy clouds. Lastly, take care to fold the batter together with deliberate folds that don’t deflate the puffy egg whites.
Remember to cool Angel Food Cake upside down. This keeps the cake from shrinking after it bakes. Don’t worry, we are keeping the pan ungreased so that the cake won’t fall out. Feel free to use store-bought blueberry jam in place of the homemade blueberry sauce for the topping.
Related: Cardamom Sugar Blueberry Bars
ingredients
directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, ½ cup superfine sugar, and salt. Do this an additional 3 times to aerate the mixture and eliminate all lumps in the flour. Set aside.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and begin mixing on low speed. Mix on low until lots of tiny bubbles form and the egg whites turn opaque.
Increase the speed to medium-low speed and begin adding in the remaining ¾ cup superfine sugar, a tablespoon at a time. This should take 1-2 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and gradually increase the speed to medium-high. Continue to whip the egg whites until they hold medium-stiff peaks. Lift the whisk out of the bowl, and the tip will stand up straight with a slight curl at the tip.
Add the vanilla extract and whip to combine. Do not over mix the egg whites or they will become dry and difficult to fold into the batter.
Sift about ⅓ of the flour mixture over the top of the whipped egg whites. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together. Sift in the remaining flour in two more batches and fold to combine.
Scoop the batter into an ungreased tube pan. Gently spread the batter around on top until even but without deflating. Take the tip of a knife and swirl it through the batter to break up any air bubbles.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. The top will be properly browned.
Flip the cake upside down to cool completely. If your tube pan doesn’t have feet, loop the center hole around the top of a bottle (a wine bottle works well) to cool upside down.
While cooling, prepare the blueberry topping. Place the blueberries in a saucepan with the lemon juice, water, and 4 tablespoons cup granulated sugar. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the blueberries until the fruit softens and breaks down and liquids begin to thicken, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and place in a heat-safe container to cool completely.
Whip the heavy cream with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until medium-stiff peaks form. Dollop about ¼ cup of the cooled blueberry sauce over the surface of the whipped cream (not all in one spot). Use a rubber spatula to gently fold together until the blueberries create a swirl. Do not overmix or the topping will be a solid purple color after icing the cake.
Once the cake is cool, run a thin knife around the edges of the cake pan and remove the outer ring of the pan. Place the cake on a serving dish.
Ice the cooled cake by placing spoonfuls of the topping then gently swirling around with the back of a spoon or offset spatula. Swirl on more blueberry sauce, if desired.
Serve with fresh blueberries on top, if using.
