1. Substituting Ingredients
Angel food cake doesn’t require many ingredients. To get the perfect fluffy texture and flavor, you need to follow the exact recipe (try this one). That means no swapping cake flour for whole wheat flour!
2. Using Cold 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.
3. Not Whipping the 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!)
4. Stirring the Batter
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.
5. Greasing the Pan
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 (we like this Nordic Ware 10-inch Angel Food Cake Pan, $18). If your pan is greased, the batter won’t be able to do that.
6. Opening the Oven
We’re all guilty of this one. You want to check on the cake so you open the oven door every couple minutes… but those changes in temperature can cause your cake to fall or not cook evenly through. This Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake is worth waiting for, so leave that oven door closed!
7. Cooling the Cake Right-Side Up
This step is an absolute must. Every angel food cake has to be cooled upside down in the pan. Why? Until the cake is completely cooled, its spongy structure hasn’t set. Flipping it upside down makes sure it doesn’t collapse during that process.
Watch us make the best angel food cake!
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The post 7 Mistakes Everybody Makes When Baking Angel Food Cake appeared first on Taste of Home.
Amanda Tarlton