Lighter than air, from scratch, Angel Food Cupcakes, with their melt in-your-mouth texture, and topped with a generous puff of whipped cream and sweet berries. Make these delicate cupcakes the centerpiece of your upcoming summer soirees.
Angel Food Cupcake Recipe
Angel food cupcakes are a classic way to serve up a favorite dessert. Topped with sky-high dollops of whipped and cream and berries, it’s a perfect treat for any upcoming summer gatherings.
This recipe has all the flavor and twice the fluff that your after-dinner appetite has been waiting for. Trust me.
Angel food cake is naturally a fat-free dessert, you’ll notice there is no butter or oil in the recipe. This let’s you enjoy that whipped cream on top with a little less guilt.
Angel Food Cake Ingredients
With such few ingredients in angel food cake, each and every one of them are very important to the final outcome.
- superfine sugar – the granules of superfine sugar are the best size when it comes to providing optimal structure for angel food cake. Superfine sugar is less coarse than granulated sugar and not as fine and powdery as confectioners’ sugar. It’s really all about how the superfine sugar interacts with the egg whites, granulated sugar is too coarse, and confectioners’ sugar will dissolve much too quickly into the egg whites.
- all-purpose flour/cornstarch – the only reason you can use all-purpose flour is because you’re going to add cornstarch, which essentially makes it the consistency of cake flour. Since the “pandemonium” I have found it very hard to find cake flour at the market on a consistent basis.
- table salt – flavor booster
- egg whites – the egg whites are the sole leavening ingredient in this recipe and you’ll want to use fresh eggs, since they will aerate better; egg whites from a carton are not going to expand in the whipping process like fresh eggs.
- cream of tartar – the acid that stabilizes the egg whites; you’ll find in the spice aisle of the grocery store
- vanilla extract – flavor booster
- heavy whipping cream – for the topping, look for the highest fat content you can find for the best mouthfeel
- confectioners’ sugar – adds sweetness to the topping
- fresh berries – use whatever you prefer, but I like the mix of raspberry and blueberries for contrast
GET THE FULL (PRINTABLE) ANGEL FOOD CUPCAKE RECIPE BELOW. ENJOY!
Why Soft Peaks, Not Stiff Peaks?
When it comes to making angel food cake, you want to make sure egg whites are whipped in soft, not stiff peaks.
Soft peak egg whites do not hold a stiff shape, but instead “fall back” or slump back into the mixture after a few seconds. It’s the soft peak egg whites ability (due to its consistency) to continue to expand in the oven while baking, that gives angel food cake its signature light and fluffy texture.
The proteins found in egg whites unfold and recombine themselves during the process of whipping, which develops a formation of proteins that can be whipped to six to eight times greater than its original volume.
Stiff peak egg whites are over-whipped for the proper texture of angel food cake and end up collapsing in the oven.
Recipe Tips
If you don’t have superfine sugar, you can add the same amount of granulated sugar to a blender or food processor and pulse until it’s almost powdery.
Make sure to sift the dry ingredients using a fine sieve. Do not skip the sifting when it comes to making angel food cake.
This recipe works best using egg whites from regular, fresh eggs instead of pasteurized egg whites from a carton.
You do not want even a drop of egg yolk in your egg whites. Fat in the egg whites from the yolk can prevent the egg whites from forming peaks.
Soft peaks, not stiff peaks on the egg whites.
If you have cake flour, you can use 1/2 cup cake flour and omit the all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
More Cupcakes To Love
Perfect for sharing with friends, these delicious cupcake recipes are going to delight everyone at your gathering.
- Key Lime Cupcakes
- Dreamy Orange Cupcakes
- Pina Colada Cupcakes with Coconut Whipped Cream
- Zucchini-Pistachio Cupcakes
- Coconut Overload Cupcakes
- Funfetti Firecracker Cupcakes
- Coconut-Pineapple Cupcakes with Pineapple-Cream Cheese Frosting
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Fluffy Angel Food Cupcakes
Ingredients
Angel Food Cupcakes:
- 3/4 cup superfine sugar, divided
- 7 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp table salt
- 3/4 cup freshly separated egg whites*
- 1 tbsp warm water
- 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1-1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1-1/2 cups heavy whipped cream
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Other:
- fresh berries for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Line 16 muffin wells in a muffin tray with paper liners.
- Sift the 1/4 cup superfine sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt into a bowl. Repeat this twice (so dry ingredients are sifted together 3 times in total). Don't skip this part!
- Add egg whites, warm water, and cream of tartar to a large bowl and beat until foamy. Slowly add remaining 1/2 cup superfine sugar, and beat until egg whites hold soft peaks. Beat in vanilla.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold dry ingredients into the egg whites 1/3 at a time, being careful not to deflate the egg whites.
- Fill muffin wells about 3/4 full. Bake until cupcakes are light golden in color, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 25 minutes, rotating the muffin tray once halfway through.
- Cool cupcakes for 5 minutes in the pan and then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- For the whipped cream topping, Add all ingredients to a large bowl and beat until the cream holds stiff peaks.
- When cupcake sare completely cool, you can frost them. Simply spoon the whipped cream decoratively on top, or use a piping bag to pipe it on.
- Add fresh berries to the top of each cupcake.
Notes
Nutrition
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