The lightest, fluffiest gluten-free angel food cake. I make it with a few simple ingredients and an easy technique that creates a delicious gluten-free sponge cake. It’s perfect for any occasion, whether topped with fresh berries, a dollop of whipped cream or enjoyed on its own.
Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake
This is one of my favorite cake recipes. The egg white meringue creates a soft, spongy texture, making each bite light and luxurious, which can be hard to find in a gluten-free cake. This cake’s delicate texture depends on the meringue’s stability, achieved by whipping egg whites to soft peaks and carefully incorporating the remaining ingredients. While this recipe offers a fun and rewarding challenge for experienced bakers, fear not, my beginner friends—my step-by-step instructions will guide you to effortlessly create the perfect gluten-free angel food cake!
You all know my family is mostly dairy and gluten-free, and this is one of those recipes that is naturally free of dairy. I love having this for holiday parties. My friends and family are always surprised to hear it’s gluten-free. I usually serve it with my strawberry reduction sauce and homemade whipped cream for my dairy-eating friends.
Gluten-Free Baking Tips
- Make sure your eggs are cold when separating the whites and yolks. This will make it easier for them to separate. Do not allow any yolk to get into the egg whites. This will affect the structure of the meringue.
- Allow egg whites to come to room temperature before whipping for maximum volume and stability.
- Beat egg whites to soft peaks, not stiff peaks, to avoid deflating them. Gradually add sugar to stabilize the meringue.
- It’s best to measure the gluten-free flour with the “spoon & level” method. This keeps you from getting too much flour in the recipe.
- Only add 1/4 cup of the gluten-free flour mixture to the egg white mixture at a time as to not weigh down the meringue and collapse it.
- After baking, invert the cake immediately and cool it upside-down. This step is critical; otherwise, the cake will collapse under its own weight.
Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
- 12 large egg whites, cold,
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour with xanthan gum, I like Pillsbury gluten-free. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Move the oven rack to the lowest position. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Mix the cornstarch and gluten-free flour together in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl using a stand-up mixer or hand mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium speed until foamy. Beat in the granulated sugar and powdered sugar on high speed, adding the pure vanilla and almond extract and salt. Continue beating until soft peaks form and the meringue looks glossy.
- Sprinkle the cornstarch and gluten-free flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, over the meringue and beat on medium speed until all the flour mixture is fully combined.
- Pour the cake batter into an ungreased 10-inch x 4-inch angel food cake pan (tube pan). Use a spatula to smooth the top of the batter. Cut gently through the cake batter in a circular motion with a butter knife (see recipe video).
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pan upside down onto a heatproof funnel or bottle. If you have a tube pan with legs turn the pan upside down on a heatproof cutting board. Let the cake cool for 2 hours upside down. Angel food cake MUST be cooled upside down or the cake will collapse on itself.
- Once the cake has cooled, turn the cake right-side-up and run a knife inside the rim of the cake pan. Invert cake onto a serving platter to remove the cake from the pan. Cut the cake into slices using a serrated knife to avoid smashing it (like cutting fresh bread).
Notes
- Use a 10-inch angel food tube pan with a removable center and three attached feet for easy cooling. The smooth sides help the cake rise properly, and the feet elevate the pan when inverted. (I recommend the Wilton Angel Food Tube Cake Pan.)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to Make Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake Step by Step
Gather all your ingredients.
Prepare the oven: By moving the rack to the lowest position and preheating it to 350°F. Grab a small bowl and mix together ¾ cup gluten-free flour and ¼ cup cornstarch. Set the flour mixture aside for later.
Beat egg whites: Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks of 12 cold large eggs. Using your stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together 12 egg whites and 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy.
Add in sugars: Gradually add in ¾ cup granulated sugar and ¾ cup powdered sugar powdered sugar beating on high speed. Add in 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla, ½ tsp almond extract, and ¼ tsp salt. Continue to beat until soft peaks form and the meringue looks glossy.
Sprinkle in ¼ cup of the flour mixture at a time to the egg white mixture.
Continue to beat on medium speed, just until the flour is fully combined.
Pour the cake batter: Pour it into the ungreased 10” x 4” angel food cake pan. Smooth out the top using a spatula and cut through the cake batter with a butter knife in a circular motion to release any air bubbles. (see recipe video)
Bake: Place the cake pan on the lowest rack in the oven and bake for 30 -35 minutes. The top should be golden brown and spring back when you touch it lightly. Take the pan out of the oven and immediately turn it upside down onto a heat proof funnel or bottle. Some tube pans come with legs to rest the pan upside down on. Let the cake cool upside down for 2 hours. (Angel food cake MUST be cooled upside down or the cake will collapse on itself).
Once the cake has cooled, turn the pan right side up and run a butter knife along the edges to release the cake from the pan.
Invert the cake onto a cake platter to remove it from the pan.
When you’re ready to serve, cut the angel food cake with a serrated knife to avoid smashing it. Enjoy!
Storage Instructions
Wrap the leftover cake tightly in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out. Keep the cake at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate it for up to a week.
To freeze: wrap the completely cooled cake in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. Place the wrapped cake in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 4 months. The cake can be frozen whole or in individual slices. Thaw the cake at room temperature.
Serving Suggestions
My family loves this light and fluffy sponge cake topped with my homemade strawberry reduction sauce, raspberry coulis, or fresh strawberries and whipped cream. This light and fluffy cake is the perfect dessert for a weekend brunch, Mother’s Day, and Easter.
Rather than using 12 egg whites, could you use the egg whites that come from the carton instead?
Hi Kat, We haven’t tried this recipe with the carton egg whites.
Hi. Thank you for your recipe. May I omit the powdered sugar in order to reduce the amount of sugar in the angel food cake? Also, may I substitute the cornstarch with arrow root? Thanks!
Hi Kristi, we have not tested this recipe with those modifications.
I just made this and everything looked perfect! I immediately turned it upside down. When I went back 15 minutes later it had fallen out of the pan and deflated quite a bit. The top is sticky like it wasn’t cooked all the way but I checked it when I took it out of the oven! Any thoughts?
Hi Abby, It sounds like it might not have been fully ready. The top should spring back when touched.
My mom used to make us kids a chocolate angel food cake for our birthdays when we were younger. Have you ever made that and if so do you know how much cocoa to add??? I would love to ask my Mom but she has dementia and unfortunately would have no idea what I was referring to. Thanks for any information you can share.
Hi Lori, we have not tried to turn this recipe chocolate, but the general advice is to swap some of the flour for cocoa powder. We recommend about 10% by weight, which would be about 9 grams or approx. 2 tablespoons.
love your recipes!
Fabulous. I have used another recipe for awhile and have repeatedly been disappointed that it didn’t raise well. I have chickens so used very fresh chilled egg whites. I was so very pleased with the result with how high this cake raised. And so light and fluffy. I use GF Jules flour exclusively for all my baking and love the texture of that flour. This cake is everything I’ve been looking for and I thank you!
it was absolutely beautiful… then I cooled it.. while I turned around to grab my cooling rack I had it set on a bottle to have it upside down and raised, it plopped right out of my tin and went everywhere… there were tears, but I will absolutely make it again with a pan that has cooling feet 🤦♀️
I’m sure not collapsed and in pieces it would be perfect ❤️
thankyou for this great recipe! This was the best angel food cake ever. I used boxed egg whites.
Perfect!!! Have A Daughter-in-law that is Gluten free and Lactose free. what I would do is make sure you are beating the whites to almost stiff, then using a large spatula and gently fold in the flour mix. It comes out really high and I like those bubbles. it adds to the lift of the cake! I use 8 oz plain yogurt and mix with seedless preserves of Raspberry from Aldi’s. 😋 Yummy!
Easy to follow directions and the cake turned out well. Also made the strawberry reduction and served with fruit. I used regular egg whites because the boxed egg whites cautioned that they should not be used for meringue or angel food cake. I used the boxed egg whites to supplement the yolks for other recipes.
I don’t have a tube pan. Is there any other pan that could be utilized?
Hi Sharon, you can try making it in a loaf pan or a bundt pan!
Why is my egg mixture falling once I add the flour/cornstarch mixture? I’m sprinkling it in like the video but by the end it’s just liquid.
Hi Nikki, it sounds like the eggs needed to be beaten for longer or the whole thing is getting overmixed once you add the flour and cornstarch!
I made this today. Everything looked perfect until I sprinkled on the last cup of flour/cornstarch mixture and the batter fell flat 😳
Hi Cindy, it sounds like the eggs needed to be beaten for longer or the whole thing is getting overmixed once you add the flour and cornstarch!
Oh man this just happened to mine! I think I beat it 30 seconds to long! Hoping it come out well enough to make a layer dessert. I’ll try again though. This smells delicious
I bought GF flour that doesn’t have xantham gum. How much should I add to the GF flour? Thank you.
Hi Brenda, we recommend ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of flour!
It was delicious, so happy to be able to have angel food cake again.
This Angel food cake was easy to make & even better, it was fantastic in taste & texture! (I did use Bob’s Red Mill One to One flour. Worked okay!). Thank you Audrey!
I’ve made this cake a few times. I always get compliments even from non GF people
I like to top it off with fresh whipped cream and mixed berry coulis.
I made this cake for my grandchildren that can’t have regular flour. To me, the mark of a great gluten free recipe is that no one knows it is gluten free. This cake was a 100% winner. It was easy, came out great, and if I had not baked it myself, would have never known it was gluten free. Your website is the first one I go to. Also, I have your cookbook, and bought one for my daughter in law too. Thanks for making gluten free so delicious.
can carton egg whites be used??
Hi Pam! You should be able to successfully used boxed egg whites in this recipe. Generally, the rule of thumb is 2 tablespoons of boxed egg whites for every 1 large egg white.
Make this every time we have extra eggs. even bring it to potlucks w/ non GF people and they love it. Always a huge hit. Thank you!
Hi Bethany! Thank you so much. I’m so glad you love this recipe.
It’s the only recipe I use now. Mama’s Recipe is a super easy a no fail Angel Food cake!! 👍🏻
Amazing – just amazing! My son has loved and requested this cake for his birthday ever since he was 10 years old. Fast forwarding many years, our beautiful daughter in law is GF and I was worried about even trying to bake it. I should not have given it a thought!! Earlier this month we celebrated his birthday and the birth of their son with this cake. More than half of it was gone the next afternoon :). Thank you so much!! You’re bookmarked as my go to for GF
We made this angel food cake for my mom’s bday. the cake was so good! Angel food is her favorite and I will make this cake every year for her and I! thank you!
Talk about a quick and easy delicious recipe! My wife has Celiac and also must eat dairy-free so this is the perfect dessert for her. I’m a disabled veteran, wheelchair-bound, beginning baker, yet had no problems making this gluten-free Angel Food cake. Definitely going in my “Must Make” file. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Great recipe. Making gf homemade strawberry glaze for it and fresh strawberries … like strawberry shortcake. Yummy
Easy & delicious Never would have know it’s GF if I had not baked it. !!
This recipe is a keeper. It came out looking, smelling and tasting just like a Gluten Angel Food cake. It was actually VERY easy to make. We ate some and froze the rest. It was perfect out of the freezer. My daughter didn’t even wait for it to thaw completely., because it did not freeze solid. Be aware, this is very sweet cake. We served blueberries and strawberries and that cut down the sweetness somewhat.
As a novice gluten-free baker, I must commend you on your explicit instructions! My angel food cake turned out superb in all areas-making, baking, flavor, texture and appearance. Thank you so much!
It is so hard to find a gluten free recipe that actually turns out tasting like the original “wheat flour” recipe. But I am thrilled to say this recipe is absolutely the best! I used lemon juice instead of cream of tartar and it worked perfectly. Will definitely use again and again and will my go to for strawberry shortcake!Ten out of five stars!!!!
Great tasting! Easy to make! Mine seemed more dense than traditional angel food cake. What could have happened? Still an amazing cake!! Could it be just because it is GF?!
Hi Tammy, angel food cake is a super temperamental recipe, GF or not! You may have overmixed your egg whites or used too much GF flour. We recommend checking out the recipe tips for more info on best practices!
I have another recipe but couldn’t find it and I was making this for my daughter who was visiting from VA. I didn’t have hopes of it coming out eatable as I messed up several of the steps. It didn’t raise as high as it should have but it tasted great! This will be my go to recipe from now on and I will mix it up it correctly! Thanks for a super gluten free recipe.
Best Angel food cake ever.
Excellent!…..and easy to make. !! Highly recommend this recipe.
Best GF Angel Food cake recipe I have ever made!! Great texture and flavor!
Awesome recipe!
I really appreciate all the extra advice beyond the basic recipe!