This chocolate angel food cake mix is a delicious vintage recipe from grandma's cookbook. Flour, sugar, and cocoa powder are mixed with 11 eggs and other baking ingredients.
1 ¼cupsgranulated sugar - divided - see instructions
⅓cupcocoa powder
11egg whites - room temperature
1Tbsplemon juice
1 ½tspbaking powder
½tspsalt
1tspvanilla extract
Whipped Cream Topping:
2cupswhipping cream - heavy cream
1Tbspgranulated sugar
1tspvanilla extract
Instructions
Cake Assembly:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 10" tube pan with nonstick cooking spray or a light coating of unsalted butter. Set aside.
Sift the flour, ¾ cup of granulated sugar, and cocoa powder into a bowl using a fine mesh strainer.
Whisk it together and set it aside.
Add 11 egg whites to a large bowl.
Beat the egg white until it's foamy, about 1 minute with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with whisk attachment.
Add in the lemon juice, baking powder, vanilla, and salt. Beat for 2 minutes, or until soft peaks begin to form.
Next, add the last ½ cup of granulated sugar, to the egg white mixture but only add 2 Tbsp at a time, mixing before adding more. Stiff peaks will start to form once all sugar is mixed in.
Add half of the dry flour mixture to the egg whites. Gently fold them in with a spatula.
Once mixed, add the last half of the flour mixture.
Gently mix until it's completely combined.
Pour the angel food cake batter into the tube pan. Run the spatula through the batter to help eliminate any air pockets. Give the pan three taps on the counter to remove some more. Smooth the top if needed.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked through the center. The cake should spring back when lightly pressed. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Run a butter knife along the sides of the pan and inside the tube. Gently invert the pan to flip the cake onto a rack to cool completely. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar (optional).
Make Whipped Cream (Optional):
Add the whipping cream (heavy cream), sugar, and vanilla extract to a medium bowl. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment to beat until soft peaks start to form. This will take 5-10 minutes (mine took 9 minutes).
To Serve:
Serve a slice of cake with a big dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Make sure to use room-temperature egg whites. You can separate them from the egg yolks and let them sit for 45 minutes on the counter before mixing. Or add eggs to a bowl of warm water (not hot) for 15 minutes.
Do not use egg carton egg whites for this recipe. I've tried it and the results aren't nearly as good! Using 11 fresh eggs is definitely worth it.
Set a timer on your phone while using a hand mixer. This will ensure you're mixing for long enough to get the best cake results.
To help the cake release from the pan, run a knife along the edges or use a spatula.
Leftover chocolate angel food cake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or on the counter up to 3-4 days.