Angel Food Cupcakes
These angel food cupcakes are a heavenly dessert. The cupcakes are made with light, fluffy angel food cake, frosted with vanilla whipped cream, and garnished with fresh berries. If you are looking for a cupcake recipe that won’t weigh you down, this is a great one to try!
Ingredients for Angel Food Cupcakes
Angel Food Cupcakes
- Granulated sugar
- Cake flour: For this recipe, you must go with cake flour. All-purpose flour will create a dense cupcake for this particular recipe.
- Salt
- Egg whites: Large egg whites, room temperature.
- Warm water
- Cream of tartar: Helps to stabilize the meringue.
- Vanilla extract + almond extract: To create a classic angel food cake taste.
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- Heavy cream: Cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream.
- Powdered sugar: Confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar. Adjust to your taste.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract adds subtle vanilla flavor to the whipped cream.
Additional Ingredients
- Fresh berries – Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or blueberries for garnish, if desired.
Tools & Supplies for Making Angel Food Cupcakes
How to Make the Angel Food Cupcakes
- Prep and preheat: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- Prep the ingredients: Pulse the granulated sugar in a food processor until very fine. Divide the sugar in half. In a large mixing bowl, sift together one part of the granulated sugar, cake flour and salt. Set aside.
- Make the cupcake batter: Whip the egg whites, warm water, cream of tartar, vanilla extract and almond extract until frothy. Turn the speed to medium and slowly sprinkle in the remaining sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip the egg whites until medium peaks form. Pour the flour mixture into the egg whites and gently fold until the batter is smooth.
- Bake the cupcakes: Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners. Bake the cupcakes for 22 to 24 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the whipped cream: Whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until medium-stiff peaks form.
- Assemble the cupcakes: Use a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip to pipe swirls of whipped cream onto the cupcakes. Decorate with fresh berries.
Recipe Tips
- Fill the cupcake liners with batter to the very top. The cupcakes will puff up when baking and shrink a bit as they cool.
- Don’t overmix the cupcake batter. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until just combined. Overmixing will cause the meringues to deflate and not rise properly.
- Be sure that the egg whites are free of yolks. Even a tiny bit of yolk in the egg whites can prevent the meringue from whipping up.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store the cupcakes?
- Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 days. Serve chilled.
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?
- Unfortunately, not for this recipe. To achieve the very light and fluffy texture of angel food cake, you must go with cake flour.
- Cake flour has less protein content than all-purpose flour and creates a lighter texture.
Is it normal for the cupcakes to shrink after baking?
- Yes, this is normal. The cupcakes will puff up in the oven and as they cool, the tops will shrink down.
Can I use a different kind of frosting?
- You can use whatever kind of frosting you like! For angel food cupcakes, I prefer to use a whipped cream because it is very light and complements to the texture of the angel food cake. Some other great suggestions for frosting are my chocolate whipped cream, cream cheese whipped cream, and stabilized whipped cream.
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Angel Food Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes
These angel food cupcakes are a heavenly dessert. The cupcakes are made with light, fluffy angel food cake, frosted with vanilla whipped cream, and garnished with fresh berries. If you are looking for a cupcake recipe that won't weigh you down, this is a great one to try!
Equipment
Ingredients
Angel Food Cupcakes
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (118 ml) cake flour
- ¼ tsp (0.2 tsp) salt
- 5 (5) large egg whites room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) warm water
- ¾ tsp (1 tsp) cream of tartar
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) almond extract
Vanilla Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1 ½ cups (355 ml) heavy cream
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) vanilla extract
Instructions
Angel Food Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 325℉ (162℃). Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- Pulse the granulated sugar in a small food processor until very fine. Divide the sugar evenly in half.
- In a mixing bowl, sift together one portion of the granulated sugar with the cake flour and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, mix together the egg whites, warm water, cream of tartar, vanilla extract, and almond extract on low speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium and slowly sprinkle in the other portion of the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip the egg whites until medium peaks form.
- Add the flour mixture into the egg whites and gently fold until the batter is combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners, filling the liners to the top. Bake the cupcakes for 22 to 24 minutes until the tops bounce back when gently touched and are a light golden color. Remove the pan from the oven and cool the cupcakes in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. (The cupcakes will shrink a bit as they cool).
Vanilla Whipped Cream Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high, and whip the cream until medium-stiff peaks form. Do not over whip the cream.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip with the vanilla whipped cream frosting. Pipe a swirl of whipped cream onto the cooled angel food cupcakes. Decorate the cupcakes with fresh berries, if desired.
Notes
Store the angel food cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
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About Courtney
Baker | 80s Lover | Cookbook Author
Courtney is a self-taught home baker and cookbook author of “Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes”. She loves to create new and unique recipes while simultaneously listening to 80s music.
Can this be made as a sheet cake? Or do you have a shortcake type sheet cake?
Hi Kelly! I haven’t tested this recipe as a sheet cake, but my inclination is to say that it probably wouldn’t work. I do not have a recipe for a shortcake sheet cake on my blog, unfortunately. I do have recipes for white cake, white almond sour cream cake, and vanilla cake!