Mini Angel Food Cake
Mini Angel Food Cake baked in two mini loaf pans is a delicate yet airy cake made from whipped egg whites and without cream of tartar. No tube pan required! Serve with fresh berries and whipped cream.
One of my favorite cakes in the whole world is angel food cake.
I don’t own a tube pan, so I make my angel food cake in a loaf pan.
However, that’s a regular 9×5 pan and requires 6 egg whites. Sometimes I don’t have that many egg whites at once (and I certainly don’t need to eat a whole loaf cake all by myself).
When I was testing my microwave chocolate chip cookie using egg yolks, soon I had 3 egg whites in my fridge.
And since 3 egg whites is half of 6, I got the idea to make Mini Angel Food Cake in mini loaf pans.
They’re delicate yet airy white cakes for two made without cream of tartar.
Similar to my mini banana bread but fluffier and a little more elegant to serve as a romantic dessert for two.
Making this mini angel food cake recipe involves a little bit of technique but as long as you follow my directions, success (and cake) will be in your future.
What is angel food cake?
Angel food cake is a type of sponge cake made with egg whites, flour, and sugar. It’s considered a low fat cake because there isn’t any fat such as butter or egg yolks.
You often see it baked in a tube pan with straight sides, but because not everyone has that type of pan I adapted the recipe for a loaf pan.
What pans do I need to bake Mini Angel Food Cake?
As you can see by the photos, you do not have to cook angel food cake in a tube pan! You do need one of two types of mini loaf pans:
If you use the 5×3 pans, you will make 2 individual angel food cakes. If you use the 8-cavity pan (roughly 2.5×3 per cavity), you will make 4 loaves.
Don’t have mini loaf pans? Make Angel Food Cupcakes instead!
Ingredients For Mini Angel Food Cake
To make your mini angel food cake recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Granulated sugar: In addition to adding sweetness, sugar helps stabilize and aerate the egg whites, which contributes to the cake’s fluffy texture.
- All-purpose flour: Provides structure and stability so the egg whites don’t collapse while baking.
- Cornstarch: Because we’re not using cake flour, adding cornstarch makes up for the gluten difference.
- Egg whites: Must use clean egg whites with no trace of egg yolk or fat on the beaters or in the bowl. Otherwise they won’t whip properly.
- Vinegar or lemon juice: Acidic substitute for cream of tartar (more on that below)
- Vanilla: Because there isn’t any fat, you need vanilla for flavor.
- Salt: Also brings out more flavor in the cake.
How To Substitute For Cream Of Tartar
Most angel food cake recipes call for cream of tartar, which is powdered acid that helps stabilize egg whites while beating into peaks.
However, cream of tartar is an ingredient I rarely use so rather than buying it and having it expire, I figured out an easy substitute.
Ultimately it doesn’t matter if you use powered or liquid acid, as long as you use something. That’s why I substituted white distilled vinegar for cream of tartar because I always have it in my pantry.
You can also use fresh lemon juice if you have any in your fridge.
Whatever you use, please don’t leave out the acid as the cake relies solely on the egg whites for structure.
How To Make Mini Angel Food Cakes
Here’s how to make individual angel food cakes:
- Sift together sugar, flour, and cornstarch. This ensures there are no lumps in your batter.
- Beat egg whites, vinegar, vanilla, and salt until foamy then increase the speed and beat until soft peaks form.
- Gently fold flour into egg whites. Do not stir or you’ll deflate the whites.
- Bake at 325F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cake springs back when gently touched. If the indentation remains, bake in 5 minute increments.
- Cool in the pan upside down on top of two jars or canned goods. This is important so your cake doesn’t deflate.
- Remove cake from the pan then serve with whipped cream and berries.
Tips On Making The Best Mini Angel Food Cake
To make the best angel food cake ever, keep these baking tips in mind:
- Separate egg whites when they’re cold but whip them when they’re room temperature. Eggs are easiest to separate when they are cold because the yolks are firmer and less likely to break. However, egg whites are best whipped at room temperature to maximize their volume potential.
- Gently fold in your flour (don’t stir). The trick to adding flour is to fold it into the batter with a gentle hand. If you were to stir it in, you’d lose all that wonderful air you beat into the eggs. Learn how to fold in flour from The Baker’s Almanac.
- Use an ungreased pan.Contrary to what you’ve been taught, do not grease the pan and do not line it with parchment paper as you need the cake to stick to the pan. This ensures it rises and won’t fall out of the pan when cooling upside-down.
- Cool upside down before removing. It’s important to invert angel food cake while cooling to help keep its volume. If you cooled it right-side up, gravity would cause the cake to deflate. Rest each end of your loaf pan (where the handles are) on top of two jars or canned items. Cool for 1 hour before removing.
How To Release Angel Food Cake From The Pan
Since you’re relying on the cake to stick to the pan, you can’t simply turn it upside down and have it released.
To remove angel food cake, run a butter knife around the edges a few times.
Next, lay the loaf pan on one side with the cake facing you. Run your knife around the edges again and gently pull until the cake slides out.
Take your time and don’t panic. I promise the cake will come out.
How To Cut Angel Food Cake
Mini angel food cake can be sticky when slicing. The best way to cut it is to run a serrated knife under hot water between each slice.
Use a gentle sawing motion rather than pushing it down. This prevents the cake from being squished.
How long will angel food cake last?
Angel food cake is best eaten within 2 days at room temperature. After this time, the eggs will start to weep and the top will become sticky and wet.
You can prolong your cake by refrigerating it for up to 1 week or freezing for up to 4-6 months.
How To Serve Mini Angel Food Cake
The easiest way to serve your angel food cake for two is with homemade whipped cream and fresh berries.
Love chocolate? Serve it with chocolate whipped cream.
You can also take it one step further with the fruit and make strawberry sauce or blueberry pie filling.
Recipes Using Leftover Egg Yolks
Because angel food cake requires egg whites, you’re going to have extra yolks. Here are some recipes on what to do with leftover egg yolks including:
Mini Angel Food Cake
Mini Angel Food Cake baked in two mini loaf pans is a delicate yet airy cake made from whipped egg whites and without cream of tartar. No tube pan required!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 + 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 egg whites, room temperature (clean with no trace of yolk and NOT egg whites in a carton - must be from actual eggs)*
- 1 + 1/2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
- Homemade Whipped Cream, for serving (get recipe here)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Have two ungreased 5.75x3 mini loaf pans or 4 cavities of an 8-cavitiy mini loaf pan. Do not grease or line with parchment paper because you need the cake to stick to the pan.
- In a medium bowl, sift together 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, and cornstarch.
- In a clean stand mixer bowl (with no trace of fat) with the whisk attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat on medium speed the egg whites, vinegar, vanilla, and salt until foamy, about 30 seconds.
- Increase the speed to high. Gradually beat in the remaining 4 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, while the mixer runs. Beat until soft peaks form (when you pull the beater up, peaks will form but fall over), about 3-4 minutes. Do not beat into stiff peaks.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour ingredient, 1/4 at a time, into the egg whites. You want to incorporate all of the flour without deflating the egg whites, so take your time. Make sure there is no dry flour left.
- Transfer the batter to the loaf pans and evenly spread. Bake 20-25 minutes or until brown and the top springs back when touched. If the indent remains, it needs more time to bake.
- Turn the pan(s) upside down and rest the handles on top of two jars or canned goods. Let cool upside down for 1 hour. Do not skip this step. The cake will deflate if cooled right-side up.
- Once ready to serve, carefully run a butter knife around the edges. Lay the pan on its side then carefully pull the cake out with your knife. If you're having trouble, you can use an offset spatula and run it under the bottom of the cake so it doesn't stick anymore.
- Slice the cake by running a serrated knife under hot water between cutting each slice. Use a gentle sawing motion rather than pushing it down. Serve with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4-6 months.
Notes
- *Eggs are easiest to separate when cold because the yolks are firmer and less likely to break. However, egg whites are best whipped at room temperature to maximize their volume potential. If there is any yolk in the egg white, you need to start over.
- Don't know what to do with the extra egg yolks? Check out my recipes using leftover egg yolks.
- Don't have mini loaf pans? Make Angel Food Cake In Loaf Pan (9x5 size) or Angel Food Cupcakes.
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Just ordered the pan to make the mini angel food cake. Can’t wait. My mom will be so excited to have her own small cake!
Oh good! Let me know how it turns out.
Love angel food cake and because it is just me, a whole cake is too much!
One question, I have and use cream of tartar so what measurement of it would I use in this recipe?
This recipe hasn’t been tested with cream of tartar because you don’t need it.
Excellent recipe, thank you so much! Turned out wonderful.
Happy to hear that!