Strawberry Angel Food Cake is an unbelievably light and fluffy cake made with fresh strawberries for real strawberry flavor - and it has a cute pink color to boot!
When I decided to make this strawberry angel food cake, I researched to see what was already out there and was shocked that I couldn't find any recipes that actually had real strawberries in them! I always try to develop my recipes to use real and simple ingredients that are easy to find in your local grocery store. In my opinion, if you're making a strawberry cake, the main ingredient should really be strawberries!
So this version is made by turning fresh or frozen strawberries into a concentrated strawberry puree and folding it into my classic angel food cake recipe for the freshest and most flavorful strawberry angel food dessert without a box mix in sight! I use this method to get punchy, authentic flavor from fresh berries in many of my recipes, including my Raspberry Cupcakes and my Strawberry Brownies.
Recipe Snapshot
What it is: Fluffy angel cake made with homemade strawberry puree for natural flavor.
Why you'll love it: Soft as a cloud and packed with real strawberry flavor from natural ingrdients.
How to make it: Cook strawberries to make a reduction, then whip egg whites with sugar and fold in the puree and dry ingredients.
Reader Review:
I don't normally like cake or desserts, but I could eat this whole thing by myself! It takes me right back to my childhood.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Susan
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Ingredients
This angel food cake is flavored with real strawberries - not box mix or artificial flavors.
- Strawberries - You can use fresh or frozen strawberries. I like to use frozen strawberries when it's not strawberry season, as they often have better flavor.
- Sugar - Use superfine sugar (caster sugar in the UK). If you can only find regular granulated sugar, pulse it for a few seconds in a food processor to make it extra fine.
- Egg Whites - It's best to use fresh eggs rather than carton ones, as they will whip up better. Use large eggs and always free-range if you can. If you're in the UK, you only need 10 eggs instead of 12 as large eggs are bigger there than in the US. I find one of the best ways to separate eggs is to do it when they are still cold, then leave the egg whites to come to room temperature and store the egg yolks away for use in another recipe, like my Custard Cake.
- Cream of Tartar - Cream of tartar helps to stabilize the egg whites, which is important to get a nice airy angel food cake. It's usually easy to find in grocery stores or online, but if you can't find it you can use 1tsp lemon juice instead in a pinch.
- Cake Flour - I like to use cake flour for the best results with angel food cake as it offers a much lighter, finer crumb. If you can't find it, you can make this recipe with all-purpose flour instead, but make sure you sift it well.
- Vanilla - A touch of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste never goes amiss in any dessert recipe.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Measuring Ingredients: I always recommend weighing your ingredients with a kitchen scale, rather than using measuring cups. It's very difficult to measure accurately with cups and this can mess up your bakes.
Equipment You'll Need
- Stand Mixer - While you can technically make this delicious recipe with a hand mixer, I highly recommend using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment fitted.
- Tube Pan - You'll want an angel food cake pan for this recipe, which is a tube pan with straight sides and bottom - not like a bundt pan. This is because the cake needs to cling to the sides and climb up as it bakes. The ring in the middle is also important to help the cake bake evenly all the way through.
- Saucepan
- Food Processor or blender
- Whisk
- Sieve - It's super important to sift your flour for this recipe.
How to Make Strawberry Angel Food Cake
This strawberry angel food cake gets all of its flavor from a homemade strawberry puree, so we'll make that first to give it time to cool. Then it's a classic angel cake technique with the reduction folded in.
Make Strawberry Reduction
Cook the strawberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the berries start to break down. Mash them and reduce until about the thickness of jam (10-15 minutes).
See the full process in my strawberry puree recipe.
Whip Egg Whites
Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer on medium-low speed until they start to get frothy.
Then add the cream of tartar and turn the speed up to medium until soft peaks form.
Add Sugar
Turn the mixer up to high speed and start adding the sugar to the mixer bowl, one tablespoon at a time, letting it whip for about 15 seconds in between each addition. Do this until all the sugar is incorporated and the meringue makes stiff peaks.
Feel a bit of the meringue between your fingers, it should be smooth - if it is gritty, continue whipping.
Add Strawberry Puree
Add ¾ cup (180g) of the prepared strawberry puree from earlier into the meringue along with the vanilla extract.
Save the rest of the puree to spoon over the finished dessert later. Turn the mixer on low speed and gently whisk it in, then turn back up to high speed for 1 minute.
If you want to add a pop of pink food color to your cake, add it in now.
Dry Ingredients
Mix the salt with the cake flour in a medium bowl, then sift ⅓ of the mixture into the strawberry meringue.
Gently fold the sifted flour into the meringue until it is almost completely incorporated. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture, then again with the last of the flour and fold it in completely.
Bake
Gently spoon the cake batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan. This is important as the cake needs to grip and climb up the side of the pan.
Smooth it out gently, but be careful not to overwork the batter.
Bake for 35-40 minutes in a preheated oven. When the cake is done, a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean. The top should be golden brown and springy to the touch.
Cool
Remove the cake from the oven and immediately turn the pan upside down. If your angel food cake pan has little feet on the bottom, rest it on those. If it doesn't, place the pan upside down over a wire cooling rack. Let it cool completely.
Once cool, use a spatula or knife to run around the sides of the pan to help release it, then give the bottom a few taps, and it should come out.
How To Serve
The beauty of angel food cake is in its simplicity, but you can still make it a little more special by serving it with some homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Alternatively, you could just use a dusting of powdered sugar, or just drizzle the strawberry puree on the cake with some berries.
Slicing Tip
To slice angel food cake, use a serrated knife (like a bread knife) and saw it back and forth gently. This is because a regular knife will squash the delicate cake, but a serrated knife cuts through easily.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
While this is a relatively simple recipe, there are a couple of things that I see people frequently doing that may mess up your end result.
- Getting fat in the egg whites - If you are not really careful when separating your eggs then you could jeopardize the whole recipe. If your egg whites have even a small trace of egg yolk in them, or any other kind of fat for that matter, they won't whip up properly.
Make sure you separate the eggs carefully and completely clean down your mixing bowl before beginning. I find it helpful to separate each individual egg into a small bowl first, then add the egg white into a bowl - this means if one yolk breaks it won't ruin the whole batch of egg whites.
- Knocking the air out of the meringue - When you are folding the flour mixture into the meringue, it's important that you do it gently or you could knock out all the air we just worked so hard to incorporate into it. This is why we add the flour in stages, so the weight of it doesn't crush the air out. Fold gently and only mix just as much as needed to incorporate the flour.
- Not reducing the strawberries enough - The whole point of cooking the strawberries is to remove as much liquid as possible. If you skip this step or don't cook them for long enough, then you will introduce too much liquid into your angel food cake and it may not bake properly. Make sure you cook the strawberry mixture until it has thickened and looks kind of like warm strawberry jam. See my strawberry puree recipe for more tips and process pictures.
Variations on Strawberry Angel Cake
- Add Citrus - For a refreshing twist on this recipe, add the zest of 1 lemon to the cake batter and use the glaze from my Lemon Drizzle Cake to make a Strawberry Lemon Angel Food Cake.
- Different Berries - The method in this recipe of making a concentrated fruit puree and folding it into the batter will actually work with any fruit you like. Try it with raspberries or blueberries instead.
- Toppings - Experiment with different toppings on your angel food cake. Try pairing it with Russian buttercream, cream cheese glaze, or a simple powdered sugar icing. Or even just dust the cake with powdered sugar for a simple finish.
Storage
Without a topping, the strawberry angel cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also wrap individual slices of cake in plastic wrap.
If your cake has whipped cream or cream cheese frosting on top, it will need to be stored in the refrigerator (still in an airtight container). It will be good like this for 2-3 days, but the fridge can dry the cake out a bit.
FAQ
Angel food cake has a wonderfully light and fluffy sponge texture that comes from whipping lots of air into the egg whites. It's soft and springy. But if you're looking for something with a velvety, moist crumb, try my Easy Sponge Cake.
Angel food cake gets its name because the recipe contains no fat, making it an 'angelic' choice.
You could technically use a store-bought angel food cake mix and add the strawberry puree to it, but honestly, the texture and flavor of homemade angel food cake is far superior to anything you can get in a box.
Not to mention the fact that it will have simple ingredients without a long list of additives and chemicals in there.
Yes, you can freeze angel food cake. It can be frozen for up to 4 months, but be sure to let it cool completely beforehand. Wrap it in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Store it in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag.
Yes, if you don't want to make strawberry puree and are just looking for a tasty way to spruce up a plain angel food cake, you can still get the strawberry flavor by using a strawberry extract or strawberry emulsion.
I like to develop my recipes to use real, easy-to-find ingredients first and foremost to make them more accessible to everyone, but you can absolutely just use strawberry extract or emulsion instead of making your own strawberry puree. Strawberry emulsion is stronger so you will need less of it, but you can find both online or in specialty stores.
More Strawberry Desserts
If you love this strawberry angel food cake, you might also enjoy some of these strawberry dessert recipes:
Recipe
Strawberry Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
- 16 oz Strawberries 450g (fresh or frozen)
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar 100g
- 12 large Egg Whites 400g
- 1 ½ cups Superfine Sugar 300g
- 1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1 ¼ cups Cake Flour 140g
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 drops Pink Gel Food Color (optional)
- 1 batch Chantilly Cream get my chantilly cream recipe
- 2 cups Fresh Strawberries
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment
- Tube Pan see notes
Instructions
- Place the strawberries and ½ cup (100g) sugar in a high-sided saucepan with a splash of water, over medium heat. For more details on making puree, check out my strawberry puree post.16 oz (450 g) Strawberries, ½ cup (100 g) Granulated Sugar
- Heat until the strawberries start to break down and begin boiling. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to help squish them down. Stir regularly. Keep boiling until a lot of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture looks slightly gelatinous, about the thickness of jam (about 10-15 mins).
- Let cool for 10 minutes, then add to a food processor and blitz until completely smooth.
- Pass the strawberry puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove any remaining chunks or seeds. (Use a spoon to help push it through the sieve). Let cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C (or 160°C fan assisted).
- Place the room-temperature egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment fitted and whip on low speed until they are white and frothy.12 large (400 g) Egg Whites, 1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- Gradually turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and start adding the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, letting it whip for about 15 seconds in between each addition. Do this until all the sugar is incorporated and the meringue forms medium-soft peaks. Feel a bit of the meringue between your fingers, it should be smooth - if it is gritty, continue to whip for another couple of minutes.1 ½ cups (300 g) Superfine Sugar
- Add ¾ cup (180g) of the prepared strawberry puree from earlier into the meringue along with the vanilla extract. Save the rest of the puree to spoon over the finished dessert later. Turn the mixer on low speed and gently whisk it in. If you want to add a pop of pink food color to your cake, add it in now. Once the strawberry puree is totally mixed in, turn the mixer back on high speed for 1 minute.1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 2 drops Pink Gel Food Color
- Mix the salt in with the cake flour and sift it twice. Then sift ⅓ of the mixture into the strawberry meringue. Gently fold the flour into the meringue until it is almost completely incorporated. Repeat with half of the remaining flour, then again with the last of the flour and fold it in completely.¼ teaspoon (¼ tsp) Salt, 1 ¼ cups (140 g) Cake Flour
- Spoon the cake batter into an ungreased tube pan.* Smooth it out and then bake for 35-40 minutes. A skewer inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean and the top should be golden brown and springy to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and immediately turn the pan upside down. If your angel food cake pan has little feet on the bottom, rest it on those. If it doesn't, place the pan upside down over a wire cooling rack. Let it cool completely.
- Once the cake is completely cool, use a spatula or knife to run around the edge of the cake pan to help release it, then give the bottom a few taps and the cake should come out.
- Serve with chantilly cream, fresh berries, and the leftover strawberry puree.2 cups Fresh Strawberries, 1 batch Chantilly Cream
Nutrition
Notes
- Egg Whites - If you are in the UK, you only need 10 egg whites. This is because large eggs in the UK are bigger than large eggs in the US. The total amount of egg white needed is 400g. It's better to use fresh eggs than carton egg whites, as the carton ones often don't whip up properly. Don't throw away your egg yolks, keep them for another recipe, like my Custard Cake.
- Strawberries - You can use fresh or frozen strawberries for this recipe.
- Cream of Tartar - This helps keep the whipped egg whites stable, which is important for baking. If you don't have cream of tartar, you can use a teaspoon of lemon juice instead, but the results won't be quite as good.
Carrie Engelhardt
This was my first time making an angel food cake. I followed the recipe carefully but it was more like a pious cake than angel food. Any suggestions?
Jules Grasekamp
Haha oh no! I like that description though! What was wrong with the cake? I"m happy to help you troubleshoot?
Also I just published a new angel food cake recipe yesterday with more tips and tricks - it might be useful.
Jules
Shirley Jones
Can you use meringue powder instead
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Shirley,
I have never tried using meringue powder instead honestly so I'm not sure how it would hold up.
If you give it a try, do let me know how it turns out!
Jules
susan brown
I followed the recipe exactly & have made angel cakes before several times
but this cake was wet;I actually just tossed it.
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Susan,
I'm sorry to hear your angel cake didn't turn out - I'm happy to help you troubleshoot.
I've never heard of an angel cake turning out wet before, but the first thing that comes to mind is that maybe the strawberry puree was not reduced enough? If there is too much liquid still in the fruit then it could potentially make the cake go soggy.
Do you think that could have been it?
Jules
Adelaide Miller
So light and refreshing! I loved the pink color 🙂 If you've ever made angel food cake before, this one is no different, just follow the directions and you'll be fine. The strawberry flavor was light but definitely noticeable. I loved how the lightness of the cake went super well with the light, spring-y strawberry flavor. Definitely an impressive dessert to keep in your back pocket!
Jules Grasekamp
Thanks so much for your kind words Adelaide! I'm so glad to hear you loved the cake!
Jules
Mairi
This is a must-bake cake! Angelically fluffy yet super-moist, and just the perfect amount of sweetness. My new favourite go-to dessert. Thanks