Not that I’m surprised, but a lot … and I do mean A LOT of you … have asked for a great gluten free angel food cake recipe! I’m happy to oblige, as this iconic cake is really one of a kind, and we all deserve to enjoy a slice.
Plus, I love a challenge, and I’ve heard from far too many of you who have experienced some pretty bad gluten free versions of angel food cake from using heavy or gritty gluten free flours.
The good news is these failures aren’t your fault; it’s the gluten free flours you were using. Angel food is not a forgiving recipe, and the flours you use are going to yell at you if they’re not chosen wisely here.
The nice thing about making an Angel Food Cake with my gfJules™ Flour is that its properties are super similar to a light, fine, wheat-based cake flour. Since there is no grit or funky aftertaste with my flour, the clean flavor of this light cake shines through without even a hint of being gluten-free.
So put any reservations aside about making a gluten free Angel Food Cake. This recipe is easy, and requires nothing more than a good mixer (with whisk attachment) and a tube pan.
Oh, and the right flour.
Seriously, don’t go near this recipe with a brown rice flour or bean flour blend. Just don’t! You want light and fluffy, don’t you? My award-winning gfJules Flour will get you there with this recipe and any other your heart desires.
Here’s what some other customers said about this yummy recipe made with my gfJules Flour:
“Wow. Just wow. I used to eat Angel Food Cake all the time as a child, and this gluten free version is EXACTLY how I remember the non-gluten free version!” ~Esther
“Gluten free angel food cake is virtually indistinguishable. With all of those beaten egg whites, the cup of flour is really only a binder. And Jules light fluffy flour is simply perfection.” ~Dawn B.
And another beauty from reader Miriam E.
Don’t waste your time and energy when the results will just be sad (and will make you sad). I want the best for you and for your baking! Trust others who have enjoyed sweet success with this recipe using my gfJules Flour.
This heavenly good cake could soon be on your table ….
One more note about this recipe. If you’re the kind of person (like I am) who hates to waste any food, you’re going to want some recipes for all those leftover egg yolks!
Gluten Free Angel Food Cake Recipe
Gluten Free Angel Food Cake
Light, airy, grit-free angel food cake is what we all want and what we all deserve. Luckily, it's what we'll all get with this recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (135 gr.) gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 2/3 cup + ¾ cup white sugar, divided
- 10 oz. egg whites (approximately 10 large egg whites)
- 1 ½ tsp. cream of tartar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- strawberries or other fresh berries, shaved almonds, whipped cream …
Instructions
- Have a 9 or 10-inch tube pan ready, but DO NOT OIL IT!
- Separate eggs, discarding the yolks or using for another recipe (like challah!). If any yolk sneaks into your whites, scoop it out with the egg shell, or just make your life easier and use pasteurized egg whites.
- Measure and transfer egg whites to a clean metal mixing bowl. Allow to sit for 30 minutes, or until they’ve come to room temperature.
- Adjust oven racks so they are in the lowest positions. Preheat oven to 325° F (static).
- Whisk together the gfJules™ Flour and 2/3 cup sugar in a small bowl, then set aside.
- Add cream of tartar, salt and two extracts to egg whites, then beat on medium speed until fluffier, with soft peaks, approximately 4 minutes.
- Gradually add ¾ cup sugar while beating, then increase mixer speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form, approximately 4 more minutes.
- Slowly fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring gently with a rubber spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients without beating the egg whites down.
- Transfer to the un-greased tube pan. If many air pockets remain, cut through batter with a butter knife to release larger pockets.
- Bake approximately 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned, dry and springs back to the touch. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean.
- Remove cake from the oven and invert the pan over top of a glass (like a wine or liquor) bottle so that the cake is suspended upside-down to cool for approximately 1 hour. The cake may fall out of the pan during cooling, so check frequently to make sure it doesn’t smash the top of the cake, if so.
- If the cake does not release during cooling, run a butter knife around the inside and center tube of the pan. Gently flip to a platter or serving plate.
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I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
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I have not had a great deal of luck baking in the year and a half since I was diagnosed with Celiac disease. That is until this past week with your Oatmeal Raisin cookies and yesterday with this cake!! . I have never done much meringue but this came out great! Everyone loved it. My daughters boyfriend had two big helpings with strawberries and whipped cream. They all said it tasted like any Angel food cake they had ever had only better. I was so nervous the whole time I was making it. Thank you so much. I will be baking again! Your flour and recipes rock!
Cyndi, that is music to my ears! I’m thrilled that you’ve got the right ingredients and recipes now to have success you can share!!! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know! May all your gluten free baking from now on be happy!!!
~jules
Hi Jules:
This recipe was delicious. I would like to make it again with less sugar. Would I need to add extra dry ingredients to make up for the reduced sugar? I plan to use sweet toppings and think a more savory cake would be great.
Thank you
Hi Paul, that’s a tricky question, as angel food cake is dependent on the sugar for much of the texture. Cruise some recipe sites for lower sugar versions to see how low you could safely go with reducing the sugar and still have a traditional angel food cake texture. Usually you can get away with cutting back 1/4-1/2 cup sugar in a recipe like this which has a lot of sugar, but expect some differences in the cake results. Good luck!
~jules
Can you freeze this cake? I have egg whites to use up but no need for a cake right now. Thank you
Hi Dee – you can absolutely freeze it, but never refrigerate baked goods as it just dries them out. Enjoy!
~jules
I can’t have refined white sugar. Do you think coconut sugar would work in this recipe?
Hi Kathleen – you can certainly try it but I don’t think you’ll wind up with the light and fluffy white angel food cake you’re looking for. I would suggest putting the coconut palm in a blender or coffee grinder with arrowroot or tapioca starch. 1 cup coconut palm sugar + 1 Tbs. starch. Grind the sugar until it’s super fine, adding the starch in toward the end. The sugar will still be brownish, but it will be lighter. Let me know how it goes for you!
~jules
Wow. Just wow. I used to eat Angel Food Cake all the time as a child, and this gluten free version is EXACTLY how I remember the non-gluten free version! My mom is even more sensitive to gluten than I am, and a little more particular about taste, and she LOVED this cake – she was so impressed. Yay for Jules’ gluten free flour blend and recipe!!!
Oh I’m so excited that you both loved it, Esther!!! Thanks so much for letting me know – it always warms my heart to hear when someone has made one of my recipes or used my products to bring back an old favorite recipe. May all your baking be so happy from here on out!
~jules
Can this be baked in a cake pan? I don’t have a tube pan. If so, what size?
Hi Carolyn, angel food really should be baked in a tube pan for even baking and support of the delicate crumb structure. If it helps, you can usually find tube pans even at your grocery store!
~jules
Thanks for the info. I did have one but rarely used it so when I moved & downsized, I got rid of it. I really don’t want to buy another one. Also, I am very limited in space & don’t have room to add any more pans.
I notice you suggest pasteurized egg whites as an alternative to fresh. But I have read that pasteurized eggs do not whip up properly. What is your experience with them.
Jules, I have a recipe for g f donuts, it calls for xanthum gum. Using your flour, do I need to add that?
Hi Doris! No need to ever add xanthan gum in a recipe calling for flour + xanthan gum. My flour has modified tapioca starch to take the place of most of the gums needed, and then just a touch of xanthan gum is added to make it all work just right. If you add more, it could turn out gummy. Great question, though! Happy baking!
~jules
I’m so excited to try this! My 10-yr-old was diagnosed with celiac this summer and has been begging me to figure out how to make her angel food cake. I shall try this soon!
Wonderful, Rachelle! I can’t wait to hear what you both think! So glad you’ve found my site. I hope you’ve taken advantage of all the resources like articles on celiac, e-books on being new to the GF diet and my back to school articles and e-book. I’ve also written books and have lots of award winning products that I’m sure will make your life easier and hers tastier!
~jules
Jules,
Since angel food cake is my husbands favorite, I have made this with your flour, and using my recipe, it was fantastic! Unfortunately, he has developed an allergy to eggs?. How do I make it without eggs?
Oh boy, Doris, that’s a tough one. Does he have an allergy to ALL eggs? The reason I ask is because some people are allergic to chicken eggs but not to duck eggs. The other option is to try it with Ener-G egg replacer. I found an article where someone used the equivalent of 12 Ener-G “eggs” with success in a recipe about the same size as mine, so I’d suggest that route. Here’s the link to that article for more info, but basically she said to beat 6 tablespoons of Ener-G powder with 1 1/2 cups warm water. This needs to be whipped for 12 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and stiff. After the first minute, she suggests adding the cream of tartar and salt.
Let me know what you end up trying and how it works out!
~jules
Jules, yes, all eggs and egg substitutes. I shall give the energy a try. I have used it to
Bake other items. I shall give it a shot and let you know.
Thank you.
Doris
What flax seed or chia seed in place of eggs. 1T of flax or seed to 3 T water equals one large egg
Hi Kathleen, check my egg free/vegan baking tips for egg substitutes. I wouldn’t recommend flax egg to replace egg whites in an angel food cake. I have heard good things about aquafaba for meringues, so that might work well here.
~jules
Hi Jules, I was reading with regards to egg subs too since our daughter can’t have eggs. I’m wondering about the pizza dough mix where you call for egg whites – can I use aquafaba, and if so, a. Does it need to be beaten till fluffy before adding to the pizza dough mix? and b. How much initial liquid would I need whether it needs to be beaten or not? Thanks so much!
Hi Sandra, I haven’t had a chance to play with aquafaba much myself, but I would think it would work to replace the egg whites with my pizza mix. You’d want to use 4 Tbs. of aquafaba (to replace 2 egg whites) and no need to whip it to fluffy before using — that’s for meringue substitutes. Let me know how it turns out if you get a chance to try it before I do! When I make the pizza crust mix without eggs, I use flax egg and it works well, but now you’ve got me curious about the aquafaba results! 🙂
~jules
I possible to try this recipe when you flour is not available in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Any suggestion about what other flour mix one could try?
Hi Joyce, we do deliver to Canada, but it can be a bit pricey. Here’s an article that should help you make your own blend if you’d prefer. I hope that helps!
~jules
Jules, I’m trying to use up all of the individual bags of GF flours that I have, before I place an order for yours. I followed the link you provided to make my own, but have a question. You call for both cornstarch and corn flour. What do you mean by corn flour, since it varies by where one lives?
Thank you!
Hi Patty, you’re exactly right about different names for flours, depending on where you live. Basically there are 3 different types of corn “flours”: one is whole grain corn meal like you’d use for cornbread — it can be coarse or more finely ground, but definitely has a grit; another is corn flour which is whole grain corn ground into flour which you’d like to find in a fine grind; and the third is corn starch which is only the starchy part of the corn. Corn starch is white and will sound a little “crunchy” if you squeeze the bag; the others should be more yellow. I hope that helps!
~jules
When you say “tube pan” do you mean like a bunt pan?
Hi Kim, it is similar to a bundt pan, but without ridges and has a detachable bottom. The best ones also have “feet.” Here’s a link to a good example of one.
~jules
Can I buy this flour in UK ?
Hi Kamila, we do deliver to the UK but shipping across the pond can get expensive, as I’m sure you know. If you’d rather make your own blend to use in my recipes, this article should help. Happy baking!
~jules
Is a tube pan the same as a bundt pan or is it a specific Angel Food Cake pan? I tired another recipe in my angel food cake pan and had burned gf angel food cake drip out of the pan and all over the over. What a mess! I’ve been afraid to try gf angel food cake again.
Hi Janice, that does sound traumatic! An angel food/tube pan is similar to a bundt pan, but without ridges and has a detachable bottom. Sounds like yours had a gap that allowed the batter to seep out – maybe it’s become mishapen or it’s getting old? The best ones also have “feet.” Here’s a link to a good example of one. I hope you try again and have success without burning this time!!!
~jules
This is such a yummy recipe! I usually make my own flour mix which I love, but was gifted a bag of Jules so I wanted to give it a go. After trying in a few recipes that were less than stellar (we ate them so the were surely edible), I was excited to find your angel food cake recipe using Jules. I made cupcakes and a tube cake and both turned out just perfectly fluffy. I baked the cupcakes for 12 minutes. What delicious little bites. They do contact after baking quite a bit. The shape is so charming and would look lovely on a dessert table. My hubby and j are trying to sav some for the kids. Thank you so much for this recipe.
How nice to be gifted some Jules flour!!! So glad you’re having fun using it, Beth!!
~jules
This is almost exactly my mothers recipe! I didn’t even think to try it GF until i saw this post! The minor differences are the amount and type of sugar. Her’s calls for a whole cup of granulated sugar & a cup and a half of powdered sugar that gets folded with the cake flour at the end. The powdered sugar is much lighter so the effect is more delicate. Your flour is the only flour that has worked to allow me to eat it again. Thanks!
Oh Johanna, I can’t wait to try it your mother’s way! Thanks so much for taking the time to share that with me and my readers – sounds delightful! So happy you have this recipe back in your “fold” again, GF!
~jules
I’d love to try the powdered sugar out as well! Which powdered sugar brand do you suggest using as most have cornstarch and may or may not be gf. I’m going to be making this for my family with my grandma’s chery icing on top and it’s beyond amazing!
Hi Nicole, generally speaking, confectioner’s sugar is considered gluten free as there’s not enough potential for contamination from the corn starch in the product to render it above 20ppm if any of the corn starch had been in cross-contact with gluten. There are some other powdered sugars on the market that are made with tapioca starch; if you are fearful of cross-contamination with the corn products, tapioca is another option. If you ever have any concerns about a product, you should call the manufacturers directly (in this case, of the powdered sugars you have access to) and ask them if they have tested their product for gluten cross-contact or make a gluten free claim.
Enjoy this recipe!
~jules
Jules! I love this recipe works perfect every time! I always play with the flavoring because I’m not a big fan of Almond in there but that’s just me.. Lemon zest or orange zest make it Devine! I have also played with different emulsions as opposed to vanilla and I have some happy folks here!! My kids like it minus the fruit and cream (seriously questioning if they are mine haha) but I love this I get such a large amount of cake I need to use two pans! And boo I hae to keep the smaller one just for me! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s wonderful to hear, Nathalie! So glad you’re playing with the recipe and having fun making all different flavors! Enjoy!!!!
~jules
Jules I have been making angel food cake for decades. Recently I just made one with the Glutino mix. After I inverted your cake if fell out of the pan. I reread your recipe and found that this may happen. The glutino cake did not fall out and was much higher. Is there anything we can tweet with your recipe to avoid this from happening?
Hi Phylis,
I’m sorry for my delay in responding to your question. I was in Portland for a cooking show and I’m just now catching up!
I think the key with angel food cake is in the sugar used. When I make this recipe with a larger granule, organic or less processed sugar, it’s much denser (still delicious) but when using baker’s special fine sugar, it’s light and airy. I’m not sure which sugar you used, but that could be the difference if the other mix you used also included that type of sugar.
I hope that helps for next time! I love this cake any way and any kind of sugar I use, but you may want to try the special fine sugar next time if you want a higher rise.
All the best,
~jules
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. There’s only one thing:
That’s a whopping amt. of white sugar…. is there any way I can cut down on it or use partly honey or brown sugar and how much would I use??? Thanks. Use this email address for the response only. No other mailings. Thanks.
Hi Rosemarie, you could cut the sugar back to 1 cup, but I wouldn’t go much lower — angel food cake is basically egg whites + sugar and a bit of flour, so some amount of granulated sugar is required. Let me know how it goes!
~jules