Fluffy Angel Food Cupcakes

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These Fluffy Angel Food Cupcakes are wonderfully soft and tender! Topped with my simple whipped cream frosting and fresh fruit, they’re the perfect sweet treat for Spring and Summer.

Heavenly Angel Food Cupcakes

These easy homemade cupcakes are a modification of my Best Angel Food Cake recipe. With a few simple changes to perfect the recipe in cupcake form, this dessert turned out heavenly!

The first thing I did was reducing the amount of sugar. It helped the batter rise better for this cupcake version. 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. The combination gave the best texture and flavor.

Any kind of light frosting would be lovely with these cupcakes, but I absolutely loved them with a simple whipped cream frosting. It’s super easy to make in just 5 minutes!

What is Angel Food?

Angel food is perhaps the most fluffy, soft and delicate cake of all. It falls under the foam cake category, meaning it’s composed of flour, flavoring, eggs and sugar without any chemical leavening agents like baking powder. This recipe also uses cream of tartar to help keep the egg whites stable, since they give all the rise and fluffiness to these cupcakes.

Recipe Ingredients

You’re only a few ingredients away from soft and fluffy angel food cupcakes! Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe:

• Sugar: These cupcakes use less sugar than the cake version to keep them light!
• Cake Flour
• All-Purpose Flour
• Salt
• 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 into one white, you don’t ruin all of them.
• Warm Water
• Cream of Tartar: This will help your egg whites remain stable when whipped.
• Vanilla Extract

How to Make Angel Food Cupcakes

1. Prepare for Baking: Preheat your oven to 325°F and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
2. Sift Dry Ingredients: Combine half of the sugar (6 tbsp), flour & salt and sift them together through a fine mesh sieve 5 times. Set aside.
3. Whip Egg Whites: Combine the egg whites, warm water, cream of tartar & vanilla extract and whip with a mixer on low speed until they get foamy.
4. Incorporate Sugar: 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.
5. Increase Whipping Speed: Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until it reaches soft peaks.
6. Slowly Add Flour Mixture: 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 so you don’t deflate the egg whites.
7. Fill Cupcake Liners: Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and fill 3/4 full – they should be pretty full. They rise better when more full.
8. Bake: Bake the cupcakes until lightly browned, about 18-23 minutes.
9. Let Cool: Remove the cupcakes from the oven, then allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. The cupcakes do fall a bit as they cool, it’s ok.

Why Do I Need to Sift the Flour?

Because these cupcakes are so light and fluffy, you need to sift your flour very well. When you combine the flour with the other dry ingredients, you’ll have to sift at least 5 times to ensure that everything is combined, but not densely packed. When you add the dry ingredients to the egg whites, sift again as you go. Make sure to add in a little at a time so that the dry ingredients don’t deflate your fluffy egg whites.

Why We Whip the Egg Whites

Whipping the egg whites until they are light and fluffy is what gives these cupcakes their delicate texture. If you don’t properly whip the egg whites or if you let them get deflated by the dry ingredients, your cupcakes won’t rise correctly or end up with the right texture.

The egg whites need to be cracked into and whipped in a completely grease free bowl. Do not use plastic bowls, which tend to hold onto grease. You might even want to wipe down your bowl and utensils with lemon juice before you get started. 

It’s also important to make sure that your egg whites are completely free of any yolk so they whip up to perfection. You can always take extra precautions by separating them in a different bowl.

Decorate with Whipped Cream Frosting!

This super easy whipped cream is my favorite topping for these cupcakes. They pair so well together and the frosting only uses 3 ingredients!

Frosting Ingredients

• Heavy Whipping Cream: Use cold cream to make sure it whips up correctly
• Powdered Sugar
• Vanilla Extract

How to Make an Easy Whipped Cream Frosting

1. Whip Ingredients: 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.
2. Keep an Eye on the Frosting: You’ll want to 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.

Topping Ideas

• Fruit: I love topping these cupcakes with fresh berries!
• Sprinkles: These treats look so cute with sprinkles on top.
• Candy: If you want even more sweetness to compliment these cupcakes, top them with crushed candy bars or your favorite bite-sized treat.
• Chocolate Curls: To add a touch of chocolatey goodness, try making these easy chocolate curls to sprinkle over the cupcakes.

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