Sourdough Angel Food Cake (half-batch recipe)
My small-batch sourdough angel food cake recipe will give you that soft, cloud-like texture you love with a hint of sourdough flavor! It’s half the size of a traditional angel food cake, using only 6 egg whites instead of 12 – perfect for smaller households! This recipe post includes a video tutorial so you can make it alongside me, step-by-step!
My husband says this is one of his favorite desserts I’ve ever developed. So I doubled my recipe and took it home for Mother’s Day. Our family loved it just as much! You’ve got to give this recipe a try!
This post may contain affiliate links of items I know and love. Read our disclosure policy for more information. I NEVER use AI (artificial intelligence) to create content for Plum Branch Home. Recipes, blog posts, photos, videos, podcasts, social media content: everything is made from scratch by me, Molly LaFontaine. After developing my recipes, they’re tested 2x by my husband, Tyler, and I before publishing. What you see from Plum Branch Home is real. It’s made for a reason, tested, and loved!
If you want to make this recipe but don’t have a sourdough starter, no worries! Grab my free guide so you can make your own starter at home.
If you’re new to sourdough baking and feel hesitant, or you have questions, I’ve got something for you! I broke down the basics of what you need to know about sourdough baking in my free sourdough baking guide for beginners. I highly recommend grabbing a copy!
The Best Sourdough Angel Food Cake Recipe
This recipe took a lot of research and trial and error but it was so worth it! The texture of this angel food cake is so soft and fluffy! Just like you’d hope for.
I developed this recipe to challenge myself. I wanted to see if it was possible to make an angel food cake with sourdough and have it still come out fluffy. The subtle sourdough flavor is so good!
What Makes this Angel Food Cake Recipe Different
- Mix of brown sugar & cane sugar: I’ve mixed 2 different sugars to give this angel food cake a rustic taste! The brown sugar adds moisture and a little extra flavor.
- Addition of sourdough: The sourdough discard balances the sweetness of this cake perfectly.
- Smaller angel food cake: I’ve developed this recipe to only use 6 egg whites, which means it’s half of a normal angel food cake. You still get everything you love, just a smaller portion! Double the recipe if desired.
Why Use Sourdough Discard in Angel Food Cake
You may be wondering, “why would you put sourdough in angel food cake?” That’s a great question!
We’re not using the sourdough to rise anything but we are adding it into the batter for flavor and a few gut benefits.
Sure the entire angel food cake batter is not fermented so you don’t get the same affect but you get some. It’s just a fun addition that adds a delicious flavor the the cake!
Why This Recipe Works
- Blended & sifted sugars: To ensure the sugar melts smoothly into the egg whites, we blend them until fine and we sift out any granules.
- Flour mix blended & sifted: Just like the sugars, we blend the dry ingredients to ensure they smoothly combine in with the whipped egg whites.
- Whipping until soft peaks: To ensure the perfect angel food cake texture, we whip the egg whites until they’re soft peaks, no more and no less.
- Small amount of sourdough added: The discard is room temperature, folded in at the very end, and added in a small amount to ensure we don’t disrupt the texture of this cake.
- Gentle folding: To ensure a light fluffy angel food, we gently fold the dry ingredients into the meringue.
- Made our own cake flour: To make life easier, we make our own cake flour with all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cane sugar: a better sweetener option for the cake
- Light brown sugar: adds a rustic flavor and moisture to the cake
- Egg whites (room temp): the base of this cake to make meringue
- Vanilla extract: adds a lot of flavor to the cake
- Sourdough discard (thin & room temp): adds flavor a little gut benefits
- All-Purpose Flour: used with cornstarch to make cake flour for this recipe
- Cornstarch (or arrowroot powder): added to the flour to make homemade cake flour
- Salt: adds flavor to the cake
- Cream of Tarter: helps stabilize the egg whites
Helpful Kitchen Tools for This Recipe
How to Make Sourdough Discard Angel Food Cake
Preparations
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grab a tube pan/angel food cake pan and set aside. If you don’t have this kind of pan, use 2 large round cake pans. DO NOT GREASE YOUR PAN(s)
Place sugar and brown sugar in a blender or food processor on high speed and blend until fine like powdered sugar. Do not use powdered sugar instead. The texture is different.
Over a bowl pour blended sugar mix out into a fine mesh strainer to catch any larger granules of sugar. Discard what’s in the strainer. Set bowl of fine sugar aside.
Whip Egg Whites
Add room temperature egg whites and cream of tarter to a large mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on low speed until they get foamy. About 1 minute.
Add the fine sugar mix we just made, 1 Tablespoon at a time. While you do this whip the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form about 5-8 minutes (whites should be fluffy and slightly form a peak but don’t stay there almost like a soft whipped cream ). Do not whip until stiff peaks and don’t give up too early. Keep whipping until they’re formed.
Prepare Dry Ingredients
In a separate mixing bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Place in the blender and blend for 30 seconds.
Pour the flour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a separate mixing bowl.
Incorporate Ingredients
Slowly fold this dry mixture into the egg whites, 1/3 at a time. Do this by scraping the side of the bowl with the spatula, cut down the middle, and repeat until flour mix is combined. DO NOT ADD IT IN ALL AT ONCE or you will have a dense cake.
Once all the dry mixture is added in and combined. Gently fold in sourdough discard and vanilla extract. Peaks will be a little softer after mixing, this is normal.
Pour Batter Into Pan
Pour batter into the pan (tube pan or divided between 2 round cake pans) AGAIN DO NOT GREASE IT.
After pouring, take a skewer or a knife and go through the batter in circular motions to get rid of any air bubbles
Use a spatula to smooth the top of the batter then take a napkin and wipe any excess batter off of the pan.
Bake Angel Food Cake
Place pan in the 325 degree preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes if using a tube pan/angel food cake pan. If you’re using 2 round cake pans only bake for 20-25 minutes.
The cake will be done when a toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden brown and risen. Do not open your oven while it’s baking!
Cool & Turn Out Cake
When done baking, turn the pan inside down on a wire rack to cool completely for 1-3 hours.
Once the cake is cooled completely, run a knife between the cake and the pan as well as the cake and center tub if using a tube pan. Gently tap the top of the pan and the cake should come out. If not use your hands to gently pull it out.
Serve with whipped cream, strawberry glaze, and fresh strawberries if desired. Enjoy!
Video Tutorial
How to Store Angel Food Cake
If you have a cake stand with a cover, that’s the best way to store angel food cake.
However, if you don’t have one, you can slice the cake into individual portions and store them in an airtight bowl or container. I store mine this way.
Sourdough angel food cake will last at room temperature for 2-3 days. Although it’s always best the first day you make it!
Serving Sourdough Angel Food Cake
You can serve angel food cake in all sorts of ways! Here are a few ideas:
- Topped with homemade whipped cream and a strawberry glaze made from scratch.
- Used to make a trifle dessert or a strawberry shortcake.
- Serve by itself for a light dessert.
FAQs
I highly recommend just using cream of tarter. This is the only way to ensure your egg whites whip into the soft peaks they need. Some people use lemon juice or distilled white vinegar but I’ve found it doesn’t work as well.
It adds a delicious flavor to the cake as well as a few gut benefits! To learn more, see the “why sourdough” section near the top of this blog post.
You do not have to add sourdough discard to this recipe if you don’t want to. It still makes a delicious angel food cake without it!
There are a few reasons this could happen. Here they are:
1. Didn’t whip the egg whites enough.
2. You greased the pan.
3. The oven was opened during the baking time.
4. You didn’t fold the flour mixture into the egg whites gently.
5. Added too much or too little of an ingredient.
6. Didn’t let the cake cool upside down for 1-3 hours before messing with it.
7. You didn’t use cream of tarter.
This could be an issue for a few reasons. Here are some reasons:
1. You didn’t blend and sift your sugars.
2. If you added the sugar into the egg whites too quickly.
3.You didn’t add cream of tarter (or lemon juice or distilled white vinegar)
4. If you added the sourdough discard before you were supposed to.
5. If you added cold egg whites, straight from the fridge.
6. If you didn’t whip them long enough.
When you combine all-purpose flour and cornstarch (or arrowroot powder), you create a homemade cake flour.
More Sourdough Dessert Recipes to Try
- Simple Sourdough Lemon Pound Cake (half pound)
- Sourdough Coffee Cake
- Sourdough Vanilla Cake (sheet pan, round, or cupcakes)
- Mini Sourdough Fruit Pizza (with sourdough sugar cookie crust)
- Sourdough Discard Strawberry Scones (with chocolate chips)
If you made this recipe, give it a 5-star rating below and share a photo of your cake on your social media stories! Be sure to tag @plumbranchhome
Recipe
Sourdough Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 6 egg whites (room temperature)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp sourdough discard (room temp)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose Flour
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)
- 1/4 tsp salt (I use sea salt)
- 1/2 tsp cream of tarter
Instructions
Preparations
- Set your egg whites and sourdough discard out on the counter for at least 30 minutes up to 2 hours before making this recipe. They need to be room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grab a tube pan/angel food cake pan and set aside. If you don’t have this kind of pan, use 2 large round cake pans. DO NOT GREASE YOUR PAN(s)
- Place sugar and brown sugar in a blender or food processor on high speed and blend until fine like powdered sugar. Do not use powdered sugar instead. The texture is different.
- Over a bowl pour blended sugar mix out into a fine mesh strainer to catch any larger granules of sugar. Discard what’s in the strainer. Set bowl of fine sugar aside.
Whip Egg Whites
- Add room temperature egg whites and cream of tarter to a large mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on low speed until they get foamy. About 1 minute.
- Add the fine sugar mix we just made, 1 Tablespoon at a time. While you do this whip the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form about 5-8 minutes (whites should be fluffy and slightly form a peak but don’t stay there almost like a soft whipped cream ). Do not whip until stiff peaks and don’t give up too early. Keep whipping until they’re formed.
Prepare Dry Ingredients
- In a separate mixing bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Place in the blender and blend for 30 seconds.
- Pour the flour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a separate mixing bowl.
Incorporate Ingredients
- Slowly fold this dry mixture into the egg whites, 1/3 at a time. Do this by scraping the side of the bowl with the spatula, cut down the middle, and repeat until flour mix is combined. DO NOT ADD IT IN ALL AT ONCE or you will have a dense cake.
- Once all the dry mixture is added in and combined. Gently fold in sourdough discard and vanilla extract. Peaks will be a little softer after mixing, this is normal.
Pour Batter Into Pan
- Pour batter into the pan (tube pan or divided between 2 round cake pans) AGAIN DO NOT GREASE IT.
- After pouring, take a skewer or a knife and go through the batter in circular motions to get rid of any air bubbles
- Use a spatula to smooth the top of the batter then take a napkin and wipe any excess batter off of the pan.
Bake Angel Food Cake
- Place pan in the 325 degree preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes if using a tube pan/angel food cake pan. If you're using 2 round cake pans only bake for 20-25 minutes. The cake will be done when a toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden brown and risen. Do not open your oven while it’s baking!
Cool & Turn Out Cake
- When done baking, turn the pan inside down on a wire rack to cool completely for 1-3 hours.
- Once the cake is cooled completely, run a knife between the cake and the pan as well as the cake and center tub if using a tube pan. Gently tap the top of the pan and the cake should come out. If not use your hands to gently pull it out.
- Serve with whipped cream, strawberry glaze, and fresh strawberries if desired. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Important Notes
- I highly recommend using cream of tarter. It’s the only way to ensure your egg whites will whip to soft peaks. Some people use lemon juice or white vinegar but I’ve not had as good of results with either of them.
- Please note this recipe is for half of a traditional angel food cake. This means it’ll still be soft and fluffy but won’t rise as high due to less batter. That is why it will come out a little less thick than what you’re used to.
- You can double this recipe for a full angel food cake. It works wonderful.
Molly brought this dessert for Mother’s Day. I could have ate the whole thing!
Keeper recipe!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad it went over well and you all loved it!
Awesome angle food cake!!
Was a surprise Mother’s Day dessert Molly and Tyler brought home for their visit. Was served with PBH recipes of strawberry glaze (Tyler made) and whip cream.
Oh what a delicious treat this was!!!!
My favorite angel food cake, better than any store bought. Same goes for the strawberry glaze and whip cream!!!!
Nothing beats homemade 😉😋
Thanks Molly and Tyler 🥰
Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the angel food cake and the toppings to go with it! We were so excited to bring it all home and share with you guys!
This looks absolutely delicious and I didn’t realize how simple it could be to make!
Thank you so much! It really is so simple!
OHHHH YUM! THIS angel foidcake looks AMAZING! Totally whipping one up!🤩
Thank you so much!! It’s one of our favorites!
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
You’re welcome! It keeps for 3-4 days at room temperature.
Can you double the recipe to make a taller cake?
Yes for sure! When you double the recipe it makes a full sized angel food cake. I’ve done this for a family gathering and it was great!