Perfect Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake Recipe (naturally Dairy-Free)

Previously, I put together this amazing post (if I do say so myself) on Dairy-Free Angel Food Cake, including my favorite recipe and topping ideas. But I had many requests for a gluten-free option. Fortunately, my friend Amy Green shared the perfect gluten-free angel food cake recipe with us back during her blogging days. She no longer shares recipes online, but you can still get her book, Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, and you can still enjoy this wonderful dessert here.

Perfect Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake that’s Naturally Dairy Free

To make the perfect gluten-free angel food cake, it’s important to have a winning recipe AND a handful of tricks up your sleeve. Amy has both for us. Here are her tips:

Make sure your bowl is grease-free. You can wipe the inside of your bowl with a little white vinegar to cut any grease. Also, make sure there are no bits of yolks in your egg whites. Fat will keep the whites from whipping.
Beat the egg whites to soft, not stiff peaks, which will make it easier when folding the flour into the whites without deflating them.
Watch carefully and don’t walk away from your stand mixer. Egg whites go from being perfectly beaten to over-beaten quickly.
Leave the non-stick angel food cake pans at the store and by all means don’t grease the pan. The cake needs the sides to “climb” up to a higher height, and using a regular, un-greased pan will keep your cake from collapsing when you remove it from the oven.
Look for a pan with a removable bottom and ‘feet’ that make it easy to invert the cake while it cools.
Be patient. Let the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan. Likewise, take your time when releasing the delicate cake from the ungreased pan.

And below is Amy’s perfect gluten-free angel food cake recipe! She also bakes without refined sweeteners, so it is simply sweetened with agave nectar.

Special Diet Notes: Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.

Perfect Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

See the post above for more recipe tips from Amy. Please note that the Prep time is hands-on time only. The cake does need several hours to cool, so this is a great bake ahead recipe.

Author: Amy Green

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 12 servings

Ingredients

¼ cup millet flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
¼ cup white rice flour
¼ cup sweet rice flour
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
12 egg whites, at room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Position a rack in the lower middle portion of the oven.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the millet flour, tapioca flour, white rice flour, sweet rice flour, and xanthan gum.
Place the egg whites in a stainless steel bowl. Beat the egg whites on low speed until they are beginning to break up and are frothy. Add the cream of tartar and salt, increase speed to medium and continue to beat until the egg whites are billowy mounds. Slowly beat in the agave nectar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until all the agave is incorporated and the eggs are at the soft peak stage. This means that the peak will form and then fold over on itself. Beating the eggs to stiff peaks will make it difficult to incorporate the flour without deflating the whites.
Add the vanilla and lemon juice to the egg whites and mix until just incorporated.
Sift the flour mixture over the egg whites about ¼ cup at a time and fold in very gently, making sure to cut down into the bottom of the batter and lift it up over the rest of the whites. Resist the temptation to stir.
Pour the batter into an angel food cake pan and cut through batter with a knife, going around pan, to remove any large air bubbles. Smooth top of the batter with a spatula.
Bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cake is golden and springs back when firmly pressed. Check the cake after 50 minutes as oven temperatures vary.
Immediately invert the pan on a cake platter. Let the cake cool completely for 2 to 3 hours.
To remove the cake from the pan, place the pan on its side on the countertop. Use a long, thin, flexible offset spatula to cut around the edge of the cake, always pushing against the pan. Pop the bottom of the cake pan up. Use a long, thin knife to cut around the core. Use the long thin spatula to release the angel food cake from the bottom.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 slice Calories: 81 Fat: .2g Saturated fat: 0g Carbohydrates: 15.5g Sugar: 10.4g Sodium: 87mg Fiber: 1.1g Protein: 4g