Angel Food Cupcakes
If you’re looking for a cupcake that is light and fluffy, try these Fluffy Angel Food Cupcakes! My recipe is airy, easy to make and fail proof. No need to get out a food processor to make these cupcakes topped with mascarpone whipped cream and fresh berries! A simple and delicious cupcake that is perfect for summer and spring!
If you’re looking for other great cupcake recipes check out my easy vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes and one of my personal favorites, these salted caramel cupcakes!
This recipe is perfectly paired with my delicious mascarpone whipped cream frosting which is really fluffy. But if you’re looking for other great frostings, check out my American buttercream frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream which is perfect for cakes or my chocolate ganache!
What are Angel Food Cupcakes?
Just like Angel Food Cake, this cupcake version is incredibly light and airy. Angel Food cake, or cupcakes are white in color because they have no egg yolks. They have no other raisin agents either because the cake relies heavily on the whipped egg whites to give them their light and airy rise. They’re typically topped with fresh cream and berries. I decided to take mine a step further and make mascarpone whipped cream. In short, these cupcakes are uniquely easy and light compared to lots of other cupcakes.
Why you should make these!
- They’re so delicious.
- They’re easy to make!
- This recipe is fool proof!
- They’re really light and airy.
- They’re simple to make
Sifting the ingredients 4 times?
Yep! Most other recipes will tell you to pop the sugar and flour in a food processor to aerate them, but I think that’s overkill. And I think there’s a better way to aerate the ingredients
I run the powdered sugar and flour through a sieve to help aerate it. Aerating these two ingredients is a really important step because this recipe relies on two things to rise. The meringue and aerating the dry ingredients really well.
Help! My cupcakes are a disaster!
If you skip the sifting stage, your cupcakes will shrink, sink at the top and will be dense. They’ll taste fine but looks wise. Total disaster.
What are the ingredients I need?
Cupcakes
Cake flour – Cake flour is a flour low gluten flour often used for cake making that results in a more delicate, light and fluffy cake.
Powdered sugar – also known as icing sugar
Salt – I used fine salt.
Egg whites – I used the egg whites from large eggs.
Warm water – this helps the egg whites whip up better. You want it to be between 30 – 43C (90 – 110 F).
Cream of tartar – It’s a powdery substance that is often used to help stabilise egg whites when being turned into meringue. You can use equal amounts of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar in it’s place.
Caster sugar – sometimes known as superfine sugar is a finer version of granulated sugar. It’s not as fine as powdered sugar, but a lot finer than granulated sugar. And it’s often used for making cakes and cupcakes. It’s also perfect for meringues because it’s course enough to create air bubbles but it also dissolves more easily than granulated sugar without the risk of over whipping.
Vanilla Bean Paste – Always use good quality vanilla extract when baking, it makes a huge difference. I have a great recipe here for it if you’d like to try your own!
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
Heavy whipping cream – this is the type of cream you use for whipping. Make sure it’s cold.
Mascarpone – this is a cheese similar in flavor and texture to sour cream. It helps make the whipped cream richer and creamier.
Raspberry sauce – I have a great recipe that takes 5 minutes to make! Grab it here!
Raspberries and blueberries to decorate – make sure you wash and dry them properly.
How to make Angel Food Cupcakes.
Cupcakes
- Preheat a fan-forced oven to 165C / 330F. Line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside. Begin by placing a sift on top of a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Repeat these another 3 times. This is important to the recipe so don’t skip it!
- To a large separate bowl, add the egg whites, warm water, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar. Use electric beaters too beat until you reach soft peaks.
- Then, while the beater is on high speed, begin adding the sugar 1 tbsp at a time until it’s all in there.
- Continue beating on high speed for a couple more minutes until you stiff peaks.
- Sift the dry ingredients in three different portions, folding each time using a spatula.
- Use a large cupcake scoop to scoop the batter into the cupcake tin, filling quite high.
- Use a spatula to flatten out the top. Bake for 15-16 minutes until light golden brown. Take out of the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. The cupcakes will shrink slightly, that’s normal.
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- Add all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whip until you reach stiff peaks.
- Fit the end of a piping bag with a large open star tip and fill with mascarpone whipped cream. Pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake and top with berries. Serve fresh!
Frequently asked questions for Angel Food Cupcakes!
Storage
These cupcakes are best served the day they’re made but can be stored in an airtight container for up to two days.
What is cake flour?
Cake flour is a flour low gluten flour often used for cake making that results in a more delicate, light and fluffy cake.
How to make your own cake flour
To make 1 cup of cake flour, take out 1 tbsp of flour and replace with corn starch. Sift three times and boom! Easy home made cake flour!
What is cream of tartar?
It’s a powdery substance that is often used to help stabilise egg whites when being turned into meringue. You can use equal amounts of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar in it’s place.
Can this be used for a regular cake?
I wouldn’t recommend it. If you’re looking for a great Vanilla cake recipe, I have a great one here! I will upload an Angel Food Cake recipe in future!
Whipping the egg whites.
You need to make sure bowl and beaters you’re using are really clean. No fat or oil residue otherwise they won’t whip properly. Make sure when whipping that you don’t overwhip. You’re looking for the bird’s peak when you reach stiff peaks. They’ll also look shiny and thick.
Other delicious vanilla Recipes You Might Like!
Vanilla Cake
Soft Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
Paris Brest
Easy Vanilla Crème Brûlée Recipe
Classic Vanilla Slice
Gave this a go? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more great recipes!
Fluffy Angel Food Cupcakes
Serves 20
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 75 g cake flour, see notes
- 75 g powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 6 egg whites
- 1 tbsp / 20 ml 20ml warm water
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp cream of tartar, see notes
- 210 g caster sugar, superfine sugar (see notes)
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 490 g / 500 ml heavy whipping cream, cold
- 125 g mascarpone, cold (mix a little before using)
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Raspberry sauce
- Raspberries and blueberries to decorate
Learn How To Make it! [VIDEO]
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat a fan-forced oven to 165C / 330F (185C / 365F for no fan). Line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Begin by placing a sift on top of a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Repeat these another 3 times. This is important to the recipe so don’t skip it!
- To a large separate bowl, add the egg whites, warm water, vanilla extract and cream of tartar. Use electric beaters too beat until you reach soft peaks. Then, while the beater is on high speed, begin adding the sugar 1 tbsp at a time until it’s all in there, it should take a couple minutes to add. Continue beating on high speed for 5 or minutes until you stiff, glossy peaks.
- Sift the dry ingredients in three different portions, folding each time using a spatula.
- Use a large cupcake scoop to scoop the batter into the cupcake tin, filling quite high. Use a spatula to gently flatten out the top. Bake for 15-16 minutes until light golden brown. Take out of the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. The cupcakes will shrink slightly, that’s normal.
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- Add all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whip until you reach stiff peaks.
- Fit the end of a piping bag with a large open star tip and fill with mascarpone whipped cream. Pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake and top with berries. Serve fresh!
Notes
Nutrition
12 comments
Mine came out tasting kinda eggy but idk if that’s how it’s meant to be? I followed recipe completely but I did notice ok the print out version it doesn’t actually say when to put in the vanilla, luckily I’d seen in the video to add it near the end when it’s getting folded together. They’re ok though, might try making them again and adjusting the sugar
Hmm, this is essentially a baked meringue stabilised with flour so it will taste a little eggy. But the vanilla should help add flavour as well. Will fix the recipe, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
What size muffin pan do you use?
Hi Rayna! The size of the cupcake tin is
Bottom 5.5cm
Height: 3cm
Top: 7cm
These are delicious, but I wanted to make a few notes! If you have a conventional (non-fan/convection) oven, like me, I’d recommend increasing the temperature to 350F/ ~177C and baking for ~14 minutes. Mine came out golden brown and beautiful! I also used regular granulated sugar (couldn’t find caster) and they came out great. I mixed the raspberry sauce just barely into the mascarpone whipped cream and it was delicious, though the I didn’t taste much of the mascarpone honestly. I baked these the night before frosting and when I let them sit for a while, the tops became very sticky and moist. I panicked thinking they were underbaked, but I think this is common in humid environments for angel food cake. After frosting, it was not noticeable at all. Finally, this made 21 cupcakes for me, not 12! Delicious and a big hit 🙂
Super helpful! Thanks for letting us know how you went Jess! N x
Can you use liquid egg whites vs eggs?
From a carton? I wouldn’t recommend it. I haven’t tried it that way and I’ve heard that carton egg whites don’t behave the same way as fresh egg whites. N x
Hi Nick! Can I use normal food colouring (water type) to colour the frosting. Also, can I use plain flour instead of cake flour? It’s unavailable at coles for some reason.
Hi Lauren! Unfortunately liquid food dye won’t work in the whipped cream. You can use all-purpose flour if you like. I’m going to be writing a cake flour recipe soon to show people how to make their own. N x
I noticed that there was no mention as to when to add the vanilla and I decided to add it towards the end. I realised that was a mistake because I deflated the batter. Ugh!! I would imagine that the vanilla should have been added in with the egg whites, warm water and cream of tarter???
Wouldn’t it be better to add the cream of tarter with the dry ingredients?
Hi Sharron, **takes a deep breath, whispers give me strength** the vanilla extract goes in with the eggs as it says in the recipe, and I’m assuming you didn’t read the article which goes into depth about the role each ingredient plays. Gone are the days when food bloggers write about what their husband thought of the recipe. We spend our time writing as much information as we can about the recipe we’ve created to help people make it and understand it. Thanks for the one star. Hopefully someone reading this will see it was given without any real thought given.