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freshly baked sourdough angel food cake

Sourdough Angel Food Cake

Molly LaFontaine
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! My husband says this is one of his favorite desserts I've ever developed!
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 1 small angel food cake (half of a normal one)

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.

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!

Troubleshooting

See the FAQ section of the blog post if you have any issues.
This recipe was developed from scratch in my kitchen by me, Molly LaFontaine, and tested many times to ensure success. Just like all of my recipes on Plum Branch Home. They're created with purpose, cherished in our own home, and developed with my experiences, trial and error, and skills. NEVER AI (artificial intelligence). 
Keyword sourdough angel food cake