Angel food cupcakes are the lightest, most tender cupcakes I’ve ever tasted! Frosted with pillows of whipped cream, they’re like a softer, more delicate version of classic vanilla cupcakes that practically melt in your mouth. The perfect dessert for any spring occasion!
These are the softest angel food cupcakes decorated with whipped cream frosting and fresh fruit. With a few simple tweaks to my original angel food cake recipe, these delicate cupcakes turned out, well, pretty heavenly!
I’ll show you how to whip the egg whites and sift the ingredients to make the smoothest batter. Instead of leavening, this angel food recipe uses cream of tartar to stabilize the batter and give the sponge rise and fluffiness. One bite of these, and you’ll want to bake them for all your spring and summer gatherings.
About These Heavenly Angel Food Cupcakes
I made a few changes to my original angel food cake recipe to make it suitable for cupcakes:
- Less sugar. The first thing I did was reduce the amount of sugar. It helped the batter rise better for this cupcake version.
- Cake flour. I also used half cake flour and half all-purpose flour for this recipe. While I preferred all-purpose flour for the full-sized cake, it didn’t work as well for the cupcakes.
- Whipped frosting. Fluffy homemade whipped cream is my favorite topping for these cupcakes. The frosting needs only 3 ingredients, and the light, airy, creamy texture pairs so well with the angel food.
Angel Food vs. Devil’s Food
Angel food cake is the opposite of a devil’s food cake. The latter is deeply dark and chocolatey, while angel food cupcakes are airy vanilla sponge made from egg whites, similar to white cupcakes. If you’ve never baked angel food before, cupcakes are a great place to start. There are no layers of cake and frosting like in a traditional white layer cake.
Ingredient Notes
You’re only a few ingredients away from soft and fluffy angel food cupcakes. Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable recipe with exact measurements.
- Sugar – These cupcakes use less sugar than the cake version to give the crumb more lift.
- Cake Flour – Cake flour is lower in protein and finer ground than all-purpose flour. I use both in this recipe, for a delicate cake texture that’s still a bit sturdy.
- Egg Whites – Make sure none of the egg yolks creep into your whites. I suggest separating the whites in a separate bowl, then adding them to the rest so that if any yolk accidentally makes it into one white, you don’t ruin all of them.
- Cream of Tartar – Similar to its job in meringue recipes, cream of tartar stabilizes the whipped egg whites that you’ll add to the angel food cupcake batter.
- Vanilla Extract – Please avoid imitation vanilla in this recipe.
Cake Flour vs. All-Purpose
As mentioned, cake flour is a finer-milled, low-protein flour compared to all-purpose. It’s often used in white cake and angel food recipes to contribute to the cakes’ signature airy, tender crumb. If you only have all-purpose, it does work in the recipe. The cupcakes just won’t have quite the same melt-in-your-mouth texture.
How to Make Angel Food Cupcakes
Here are a few helpful tips for preparing and baking the fluffiest angel food cupcakes.
Sifting the Flour for the Cupcake Batter
In angel food cake recipes, the crumb is very fine. Sifting is a key step in the recipe that breaks up any lumps in the dry ingredients. I recommend you do this at least 5 times through a fine-mesh sieve. This ensures that the flour, sugar, and salt are well-combined but not densely packed. I even sift the ingredients again as I add them to the whipped egg whites to make the batter. This way, the finished angel food cupcakes are soft and fluffy.
Whipping the Egg Whites
Whip the egg whites for the cupcake batter in a grease-free bowl, ideally stainless steel. I usually wipe down my bowl and tools with white vinegar or lemon juice to ensure they’re squeaky clean.
Whipping the egg whites is what gives these cupcakes their delicate texture. If you don’t properly whip the egg whites or if they deflate as you add the dry ingredients, the cupcakes won’t rise properly. So, take care to ensure they reach soft peaks.
Baking the Cupcakes
It’s important to slowly and gently fold the dry ingredients into the whipped egg whites so you don’t deflate the meringue. These angel food cupcakes bake at a slightly lower temperature, 325ºF instead of the common 350ºF, so they don’t bake too fast or brown too quickly in the oven.
Divide the batter between the cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. They can be pretty full, but I wouldn’t go over ¾ full to avoid overflow.
Bake the cupcakes in a 325ºF oven for 18-23 minutes, until they’re lightly browned. Cool the cupcakes completely.
How to Decorate Angel Food Cake Cupcakes
To make the simple whipped cream frosting for these cupcakes, whip cold heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until it’s smooth and billowy. The whipped cream should form a medium peak when you lift the whisk. Be careful not to over-whip or under-whip the frosting.
Spread or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cupcakes, following my guide on how to frost cupcakes if needed.
Optional Toppings
- Fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.
- Sprinkles
- Chocolate curls
- Toasted coconut
- Caramel sauce
Storing and Serving Angel Food Cupcakes
I highly recommend leaving off the whipped cream if you’re not serving your cupcakes right away. Store the baked, cooled cupcakes in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. Prepare a fresh batch of frosting and frost the cupcakes before serving.
More Cupcakes Recipes You’ll Love
Angel Food Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 16–18 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Angel food cupcakes are soft, delicate vanilla cupcakes made with whipped egg whites and frosted with pillows of homemade whipped cream. The perfect light, sweet dessert for spring and summer!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 3/4 cup (155g) sugar, divided
- 4 tbsp (32g) cake flour
- 4 tbsp (32g) all-purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup egg whites, room temperature (about 5–6 large egg whites)*
- 1 tbsp warm water
- 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
For the Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
- 3/4 cup (86g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Fresh fruit, optional
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 325°F and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Combine half of the sugar (6 tbsp | 78g), flour and salt and sift them together through a fine mesh sieve 5 times. Set aside.
- Combine the egg whites, warm water, cream of tartar and vanilla extract and whip with a mixer on low speed until they get foamy.
- Increase speed to medium and continue whipping, adding remaining sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Wait 5-10 seconds between each addition to give time for the sugar to incorporate.
- Increase to medium-high speed and whip until it reaches soft peaks.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg whites a couple tablespoons at a time. Sift the flour mixture again as you add it to the egg whites. Repeat until all the flour mixture has been added. It’s important to add the flour mixture slowly to not deflate the egg whites.
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and fill 3/4 full – they should be pretty full. They rise better when more full.
- Bake the cupcakes until lightly browned, about 18-23 minutes.
- Remove cupcakes from the oven, then allow to cool completely on a wire rack. The cupcakes do fall a bit as they cool.
For the Frosting
- Whip together your cream, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed. This pace will make it easier to avoid over-whipping or under-whipping the frosting.
- Stop whipping as soon as the mixture becomes smooth and billowy. If you let the ingredients whip for too long, your frosting will curdle or take on a grainy texture. You want it to have a medium peak that forms when you lift up the whisk.
- Pipe or spread the frosting onto the cupcakes and top with your desired decoration.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 112
- Sugar: 14.5 g
- Sodium: 38.2 mg
- Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.6 g
- Protein: 1.8 g
- Cholesterol: 12 mg
Thank you for this recipe!! It’s amazing! Made several times now and was perfect each time. So tasty soft and melt in your mouth
Would these be okay to leave out for a couple hours during a party?
Yes, that should be fine. As long it’s not in the heat outside. The whipped cream may not do as well in the heat.
I don’t have any cake flour, can I just use normal flour?
You can, yes.
my cupcake batter is basically like a meringue except for the taste of the other ingredients. is this right? or did i do something wrong?
Sounds like it’s probably right. It’s heavily based on the whipped egg whites.
Hi Lindsay! I wanted to make coconut Angel good cupcakes. How much coconut extract would you suggest adding in addition to the vanilla?
You could just replace the vanilla with coconut extract.
What is the best cake flour brand for this one? Or What kind of cake flour brand did you used?
I use Swans Down cake flour.
I used caster sugar instead of regular and they came out very well! A little short but I expected that. 10/10 would make again!
I don’t have cake flour on hand (and rarely do). Can I substitute with all purpose or something else?
These really do work best with the combination of cake flour and all purpose. All all-purpose didn’t rise as well for me.
Can I use commercial egg replacer powder in place of egg whites?
I haven’t ever worked with egg replacers, so it’s hard to say. But the egg whites make up such a big part of the volume of the batter that it seems like it might not. I’m not sure.
These look incredibly appetizing. What cake tin/pan are you using?
Could you freeze these for decorating later?
Is the whipped cream frosting shelf stable or do I need to keep it in the fridge?
Fridge is best IME+O.
Oh!! looks so delicious
If I don’t have cake flour can I just substitute it with normal flour or will that ruin it?
Oh, yum! These look so delicious–and perfect for summer! I definitely agree that whipped cream is the #1 pairing for angel food cake–it’s just got that light and airy texture that pairs perfectly with the cupcakes, making you feel like you’re sinking your teeth into a sweet and fluffy cloud 🙂 I think cream cheese whipped cream frosting would also be amazing on these!
These look like heaven! I hope to make them sometime this week, I may fill them with a strawberry compote 😋 Also congrats on your 3rd child, coming!