Description
Learn how to make the perfect Pink Angel Food Cake with this detailed recipe and expert tips! This light, fluffy, and beautiful cake features a delicate vanilla-almond flavor, soft pink color, and melt-in-your-mouth texture. Made with simple ingredients and no butter or oil, it’s perfect for special occasions like baby showers, bridal showers, Valentine’s Day, and spring celebrations. Complete with step-by-step instructions, pro tips, troubleshooting advice, and serving suggestions.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup cake flour, sifted
- 1 ½ cups superfine sugar (divided: ½ cup for whites, 1 cup for flour mixture)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Egg White Mixture
- 12 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional but recommended)
- 2–3 drops pink gel food coloring
Optional Pink Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons milk or cream
- A drop of pink food gel
Substitution Notes:
- No superfine sugar? Pulse regular granulated sugar in a food processor for 30 seconds.
- Skip the almond extract if you have allergies — vanilla alone is still wonderful!
- Use liquid food coloring if that’s what you have, but gel gives better color with less liquid.
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Now here’s the most important thing: make absolutely sure your tube pan is completely clean, ungreased, and bone dry. I mean SPOTLESS! Any trace of grease will prevent the egg whites from climbing up the sides of the pan, and you’ll end up with a sad, flat cake. The batter actually needs to grip the sides to rise properly.
Sift together your cake flour, 1 cup of the superfine sugar, and salt into a bowl. Set this aside — we’ll come back to it later.
Add your room temperature egg whites to a large, clean bowl. Start beating on medium speed until they look foamy and bubbly — this takes about 1 minute. Sprinkle in the cream of tartar.
Now increase the speed to medium-high and start adding the remaining ½ cup superfine sugar, just a tablespoon at a time. Don’t rush this part! Slow and steady wins the angel food cake race. Beat until you see soft peaks forming when you lift the beaters.
Add your vanilla extract, almond extract, and those gorgeous drops of pink gel coloring. Keep beating until you reach thick, glossy medium-stiff peaks. When you lift the beater, the peaks should stand up but the tips should curl over just slightly. Be careful NOT to overbeat to dry, stiff peaks — that’ll make your cake tough and dry.
This is where patience pays off! Sift about one-third of your flour mixture over the whipped whites. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold it in with a cutting and turning motion. Think of it like you’re giving the batter a gentle hug, not a vigorous stir.
Add the second third, fold gently. Then add the final third and fold just until no white streaks remain. The batter should look fluffy and cloud-like. You might see a few small lumps — that’s totally okay! Better to have a few tiny lumps than to deflate all those beautiful air bubbles by overmixing.
Spoon the batter into your ungreased angel food cake pan, smoothing the top gently with your spatula. Now take a butter knife or a long skewer and run it through the batter in a zigzag pattern — this releases any large air pockets that could cause holes in your finished cake.
Bake for 35–40 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the top looks dry and lightly golden, and it springs back when you gently touch it. The cake should feel firm, not jiggly.
Here’s the fun part that always makes people giggle! The second you take that cake out of the oven, flip it upside down. If your pan has little legs, rest it on those. If not, carefully insert the center tube over the neck of a glass bottle (wine bottles work perfectly!). This keeps the cake from collapsing while it cools.
Let it hang out upside down for at least 1½–2 hours until it’s completely cool. I know it’s hard to wait, but this step is crucial! Run a thin knife around all the edges — the outer edge, the inner tube, and the bottom. Give the pan a gentle shake, then remove the cake and place it on your prettiest serving plate.
Notes
- Don’t open the oven door during baking — the temperature drop can cause your cake to fall.
- Use gel food coloring, not liquid — you get better color without adding extra moisture.
- Save those yolks! Make custard, lemon curd, or hollandaise sauce. Egg yolks freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.
Common mistake: Opening the oven door too early to check on the cake. Wait at least 30 minutes before peeking!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35-40 minutes + Cooling Time: 2 hours
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American