Angel Food Cake Is the Answer
Remember angel food cake? As a kid, I thought it was the most magical dessert — delicious and fluffy, like a lightly sweetened cloud. It had a big moment in the ‘90s, when it was unfortunately popularized as a miracle diet food thanks to its fat-free content (“fat free” also had a big moment in ‘90s diet culture). Then everyone turned on carbs in the 2000s, and poor old angel food got kicked to the curb. But today, I want to remind you that this cake exists and it deserves a comeback. Here’s why…
1. It’s fool-proof. Angel food is a one-bowl wonder that’s impossible to mess up. Unless you seriously overbake it, you’re going to wind up with a big, poofy, moist-but-light-as-air cake. And even if you do forget it in the oven (I’m not sure how you would, because it makes your entire house smell like a divine confectionary), you can wash out the pan and stick another one in there in 10 minutes. Why?
2. Box is best. Or, rather, box is indistinguishable from scratch. I learned this from my mom, a chef: Most of the time, homemade is better, but sometimes it makes no difference. In those cases, you’re better off saving the time and fuss for another part of the meal. Angel food cake is basically just sugar and a ton of egg whites (which come powered in the box so you just add water). It’s a personal call, but if I’m going to separate 15 eggs, I want everyone to know I made the effort, thankyouverymuch. I also want something to do with all those yolks. Eggs aren’t cheap, as you may have heard!
3. It’s good, not fancy. There’s no perfect bake where the finished product comes out evenly browned and smooth. Instead, it comes out like a toasted marshmallow, with little crags and crunchy edges and a super soft middle. There’s no way around it because, with angel food cake, the #1 rule is you cannot grease the pan. The batter has to stick to the pan in order to rise, which means that when it’s baked and cooled you have to beat it up a bit to get it out — running a butter knife around the sides and shaking it around until the cake plops out in all its toasty, uneven glory.
4. You can dress it easily. You’re not going to frost angel food cake with buttercream or ganache. It’s too soft and too sweet for anything heavy on top. This lightweight, no-fuss cake wants a lightweight, no-fuss topping. Defrost frozen cherries and pour them on top, juice and all — done. Dust with powdered sugar at the table — ta da. Dollop on whipped cream and add some fun sprinkles — how cute is that? On the other hand, if you do want to get more creative, angel food is one of the most “hackable” cakes out there. Cut it into thirds and layer with strawberries and cream. Stuff the middle with ice cream for a surprise ice-cream cake. Or rip it into pieces and turn it into single-serve trifles (with whipped cream and berries). I made this messy one for my five-year-old, who said it was the best thing she’d ever had in her life. Just sayin’!
5. It’s a pleasant surprise. Angel food cake is not the kind of dessert that makes people knit their brows and murmur, “Oh, wow, do I taste cardamom in here?” But it is the kind of dessert that makes people smile and say, “Angel food cake?! I haven’t had this in forever!” And, sometimes, that’s all you want.
Are you an angel food fan, too? What other throwback classics should I revisit?
P.S. More yummy recipes, including soup with turkey meatballs, and eight spooky Halloween snacks.
Comments
148 commentsLove angel food cake! It will forever remind me of my grandmother, who always had one freshly made in her cake box when we arrived for visits. A big chunk of angel food cake late at night after a long drive is a huge part of my memories of my grandparents house. I was the happy recipient of her angel food cake tin, and because I now live in France and can’t easily get the box mix I only make it once a year (at Christmas, I use the yolks for eggnog).
My MIL makes cakes from scratch, but never angel food cake! She would buy one from a bakery and then make my favorite cake: a fifties-style delight that had pistachio pudding mix, mixed with whipped topping (or whipping cream). You place the topping mixture all over the cake, and honestly it’s creamy and flavorful and fresh! If you want to jazz it up add crushed pistachios and fresh raspberries.
Bringing a store bought angel food cake, can of rediwhip and slicing a container of strawberries is my signature summer bbq move. Never seen a complaint
You can never go wrong with redi whip
I serve angel food cake often, to acclaim. Most favorite is to serve plain slices and pass a bowl of topping. Topping is made of sour cream mixed with light brown sugar and lemon juice (no measurements, just til you have enough of it, and it tastes good to you). Add blueberries and halved green grapes to the sour cream mixture and serve. It is divine.
My husband’s fave! So I have made it once a year on his bday, from a box except last year when I pulled it off from scratch. Here to say if you think the box version tastes slightly…tangy?…and lije me you don’t like that, the homemade version doesn’t have that tang. That’s all! :)
I had a great aunt who was a wonderful baker – I inherited her cookie jar – but she made angel food cake that was absolutely delicious! There’s a local bakery that does angel food cake muffins – one plain and one with the barest chocolate glaze on top. Just right for a little hit of something. Oh the nostalgia!
Yes! My great-grandmother always made angel food cake with brown sugar frosting–delicious! Two retro desserts still in my rotation are cherry dump cake and Texas sheet cake :)
Angel food cake has always been my choice for my birthday cake. My aunt would make it with sprinkles in the batter so it came out looking extra fun! I’m 58 so this was way before funfetti anything! I’ve discovered I also like it for breakfast! LOL!
its also my birthday cake of choice! Im 37 going on 38! my favorite is ripping off nibbles of the crunchy top that becomes the bottom.
I requested angel food cake for MOST of my birthdays as a kid. Feeling nostalgic, and never having made it myself, I made it a couple years ago for my birthday, with strawberries and homemade whipped cream. And you know what….it’s still one of my favorite desserts!
Everything about this read was delightful. So much joy in simplicity. It made my heart happy.
We served Angel food cake with whipped cream and berries at our wedding (it’s a nostalgic favorite for me, as clearly it is for many others here) and it was a huge hit. For our center piece cake it was decorated with the cream and beautiful fresh flowers. It was a great look and was cake I actually enjoyed eating.
The nostalgia! My beloved grandmother used to make angel food cake all the time, and I inherited her pan! It was my favourite as a kid, with whipped cream and strawberries, but I haven’t had it in probably twenty years. She is in the final stages of advanced dementia, and this feels like a sign to make one and take her a slice ❤️
What a wonderful heirloom!
What is that delicious looking pink topping on the cake?
A quickie blueberry glaze I made! I riffed on the one used in this recipe, but I just eyeballed the measurements (and used frozen berries). https://www.supergoldenbakes.com/blueberry-cake-recipe/
Thank you for sharing that! Looks so festive!
Angel Food cake is my birthday cake every year! Perfect in summer with fresh berries and homemade whipped cream ❤️ my grandma had it for all of her birthdays when I was growing up, and I love continuing her cake tradition.
My mom used to make angel food cake (from the box, it was the 80s) with a Cool Whip frosting that was just cocoa powder mixed into the tub of Cool Whip. Not too sweet. Giant, luxurious slices. Pure heaven.
Amanda, your mom is a genius and I will be making angel food cake with cocoa powder frosting.
My mother‘s take on that was making a topping of heavy whipping cream, sugar, and cocoa powder. She would whip it up into a froth and then spoon it over a slice of angel food cake. Fabulous!
I knew my husband was my soulmate when he told me that angel food cake is his absolute favorite. Mine too!!
This was a family favorite birthday cake growing up … with caramel frosting!!
Not American, but this cake looks like my late grandmother’s “snow cake”. She used to collect leftover egg whites in her fridge (as you do, I guess?) and make the cake when she had enough of them. I loved it and would love to make one but I never have leftover egg whites.
I use the egg yolk to make lemon curd and serve it with the angel food cake.
Julia, oooof, lemon curd. Now you’re talking.
I had it every year for my birthday as a kid (two cakes put together made a very memorable “8”!) and now do it for my own kiddos. I personally prefer it from scratch – I use this recipe https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/angel-food-cake/
Gah! Best idea for 8 year olds!
I was given an angel-food cake pan as a wedding present 58 years ago. I probably only used it for its intended purpose a handful of times. But about 40-50 years ago Southern Living published a recipe for a seven-pound White Fruitcake that was baked in an angel-food cake pan. It took two days to make it and you had to make a liner for the pan from brown-paper grocery bags (very complicated process that took nearly an hour). Then you had to bake it at 275 for like six hours. My husband loved fruitcake and he REALLY loved that one, so I made it every year the week before Thanksgiving (so it could soak for a month) for at least ten years. When I finally cracked and stopped making that sucker, I tossed the cake pan so I wouldn’t be tempted to do it again. So no more angel-food cake, but I do love the one the one made with a mix and crushed pineapple.
Libbynan, That one is the best, especially if you, like me, are not a baker
That is a heck of a project ! Wow.
Oh man this reminds me of a crazy simple holiday “recipe” I found like 15 years ago, if anyone wants – would be easy and fun to do with kids. Make or get a store bought angel food cake. Crush up a bunch of candy canes. Take some of the crushed candy canes and put it in a bowl with some water (eyeball, do what feels right), and pop that in the microwave to make a quick syrup-like liquid, perhaps 30 seconds. Cut the cake in half into two layers. Take the syrup and pour onto both layers to soak it in, candy pieces and all. Frost however you like with cool whip, or top with whipped cream. Sprinkle leftover candy pieces on top. Surprisingly good and nostalgic! Going to have to make it this year with my kids.
This is absolutely GENIUS! We always end up with more candy canes than anyone actually wants to eat. I had no idea they could be made into a syrup so easily. Thank you thank you!
My grandmother always made a sponge cake to use up the yolks left over from the angel cake. She would sometimes serve the two cakes together.
Angel food cake was a family birthday party staple! Gosh so many great memories of making it and eating it. Thank you for the reminder. I’ll need to make one for my boys. I know they will love it too.
My baby boy turned one last week. As unpopular as it sounds, I wasn’t planning to do anything major. Frankly, I’m still in new-mom haze and fully embracing “less is more.” But I grabbed a box of Angel Food cake as a last minute surprise and it was 100% the right move. Great pictures of his first bites and it took me 10 minutes!
I am all for minimal-to-nothing first birthday celebrations! They are only for the parents and the pictures; the kiddos are blissfully unaware! Buy a grocery-store cupcake, ideally with colored icing for maximum photo cuteness, pop your son in a high chair and let him go to town, and call it a day. Save your energy for later birthdays that he will care about (and remember!).
One of my favorites! I made it often as a kid and in college. It always felt like eating a magial cloud, and has to be doused in whipped cream, ice cream and berries. Really wish I had a box right now. Kelsey, your writing is so fun – looking forward to more of these.
Omg the nostalgia is flooding! My mom always made angel food cakes and I loved them. Such a specific flavor (at least in my head, haha). I am weirdly so inspired to make one! :)
I LOOOVED angel food cake growing up. And haven’t had it in years. Thanks for this sweet reminder to treat my inner child!
Love angel food cake but I’m even more wistful when I eat sugar cream pie—an Indiana classic! It’s rich, dead simple and serves nostalgia every time.
David Letterman’s Mom made the best ever sugar cream pie. At least, according to him. He used to have her on his show, usually in videos, and as I recall she was a lovely lady. I will have to try my hand at this pie someday!
Loved this! It was The birthday cake in our house growing up in the ‘ 50s and ‘60s — our mother made it, from scratch, for all six daughters. Seven-minute frosting (light!), dyed to our color specs and decorated with buttercream flowers. The special treat: the hole in the middle was covered with a circle of cardboard, also frosted and decorated, and this belonged to the birthday girl. Good memories.
Angel food cake hacks: 1. Eat it stale. Like let it sit out and get chewy/ crunchy. Or toast it, but it’s not quite as good. 2. Flip and hang the cooling cake in the pan over the top of a bottle for maximum height
My favorite birthday cake was from when I turned twelve. We had angel food cake, strawberries, and chocolate whipped cream. I should really recreate for my next birthday!
My mom has always been a baker (and from scratch), but swears by boxed angel food cake mix. It came into our family’s repertoire the summer I was 4 and she had gall stones and a sweet tooth – fat free, easy, delicious. We always eat it with a simple lemon glaze on top. Sometimes she buys the confetti one so it’s a party on the inside, too!
Love to toast slices of angel food in our pizza oven and with whatever fruit is in season. So yummy!
I worked in a retirement home as a kid and a daily dessert option was Angel Food cake. I can vouch for the frozen Sara Lee version. We’d drizzle raspberry preserves on a slice.
I used to make this as an occasional surprise when my kids were home, and the best part was the leftovers. We’d cut the remaining cake into slices, wrap them well, and freeze them. Then we would take a slice from the freezer on a school morning, toast it and carefully butter it, and it was (appropriately enough) heaven. And hey, we were giving the kids eggs for breakfast, so that made it healthy, right?
Yes!! Toasted angel food cake is a top 10 breakfast!
Since the time I was a teenager (60 years ago), I’ve made a green angel food cake for St. Patrick’s Day each and every year. I fold in the green food coloring at the end making puffy swirls. In fact, I love it so much, sometimes I make a blue angel food cake where I make it look like clouds in a blue sky.
Your cloud cake made me think of a bundt cake I used to make for the kids with a rainbow in the center. They’d be a perfect duo! https://buttermilkbysam.com/hidden-rainbow-cake/
Flaming cherries jubilee atop angel food cake was my mom’s showstopper dessert when I was growing up. It’s not actually that hard! I should make it again.
If you do go the homemade route, highly recommend curing the yolks, Asian style, then using the cured, grated yolks on everything! Delish :) Another riff is Castella cake. Easy and so satisfying. For retro ideas, I love carrot cake cupcakes!
Thanks for the recommendations!! Just googled the yolks and the cake – omg, both are totally up my alley!!
I made an angel food cake once while in high school (90s) and I was so proud of myself. The thought of whipping the batter until peaks formed was something that I wasn’t sure I could manage. Luckily, the cake came out successfully and it was a true confidence builder. It actually started my love for baking. I highly recommend giving a box to a young baker.
We are coming up on the year anniversary of my husband’s father’s very sudden death. I made my father in law homemade angel food cake for his last birthday, which no one knew at the time it would be his last. How wonderful & timely of a post.
Amen!!! my daughter’s first birthday cake was angel food 🤍
My favourite childhood dessert that my gran would serve in the summer: angel food cake, chocolate ice cream and homemade raspberry sauce. It is one of the most heavenly combinations due to the contrasts held within. The light sweetness of the cake, the creamy, cold, darkness of the chocolate and the warm tang of the raspberry? Highly recommend.
It’s a favorite in our gluten- and dairy-free house! It’s already dairy free and relies on the egg whites instead of gluten for the structure. Has anyone used powdered egg whites in a scratch recipe (from scratch, since I need GF flour)? I’d love a product suggestion. I don’t mind separating the eggs as much as I mind figuring out what to do with the yolks.
You can buy a carton of egg whites in the grocery store instead of using powdered.
Yolks can freeze FYI, just stabilize them by mixing in some sugar. Write on the jar how many yolks and sugar are in each. I usually put the right amount to make a batch of custard and then next time you want custard, et voila! A little kit ready to go!
Lemon curd is the answer for all your yolks! https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/lemon-curd/283bfb8c-9679-4dc1-8e5d-a28fee494ce9
I often make lemon curd with the yolks which tastes great with angel food cake – I also make it GF.
Some stores sell liquid egg whites in a carton (in refrigerated section). Looks like you can also freeze egg yolks for later (beaten with either sugar or salt to prevent them from getting too thick). Ideas for if you can’t find good powdered egg whites.
This was our birthday cake growing up! My grandma would add cocoa powder to make chocolate angel food cake. She would frost it with cool whip and add frozen gummy bears on top for the kids and put slivered almonds and maraschino cherries on top for the grown ups which I loved!
Angel food cake! Throwback to late 80s childhood when fat free was considered healthy! My grandmother always had some rock hard fat free oatmeal cookies and fluffy delicious angel food cake when my cousins and I would visit. She always used the Duncan Hines mix and it was so good. I’m going to make one this weekend and toast her. She would have been 102 last month. I still miss her so much, and have a glamourous photograph of her on my desk here at work, one she sent to my grandfather during WWII.
Love this so much 🥰
I have no idea what you’re all talking about. Loving that in our globalized world, some things can never cross frontiers… love from Paris
And THIS is reason 962 why I need to move to Paris immediately.
Me neither! It is rather charming actually!
Agnès, I love, too, that some things are not only untranslatable, they may not even exist elsewhere. How rare! If you’re interested in trying it, the closest I could come up with would be gâteau éponge, except without the egg yolks, just the whites. I love the idea of a cake called Gâteau des Anges, though, because everything sounds better in French!
I always love your comments Agnes !! <3 This made me chuckle ! :)
We just got back from Paris and it doesn’t compare to anything that’s in any boulangerie! It’s like eating a sweet kitchen sponge. And I say that as someone who had one as their birthday cake every year as a child. It’s nostalgic but it isn’t good! Sorry!
Same here, I’m intrigued. I grew up between Germany and England and have never heard of it! :-)
Haha same! Love from Germany via the Netherlands (we’re on a holiday)
Angel food cake can definitely be made in France, give it a go! I’ve made it a number of times here, and while you can’t get the box mix, it’s not all that difficult to make from scratch and you can use the leftover jaunes for pot au crème. I’ve done a scaled down version in a high sided 16cm cake tin (from Mora) cream of tartar is available at G. Detou in the 2eme.
I used to request angel food cake for every birthday as a kid (in the 80s/90s), with strawberries and whipped cream. Your 5 year old is correct! I will be buying a box at the grocery store tomorrow. Thank you for the nostalgia!
Oooh, it looks so good! So pretty! I’ve recently been getting into making two cakes, a vanilla one with heaps of chocolate icing. I do a half quantity which seems to be the perfect amount of cake until you are ready to switch flavours. Then I make a chocolate with heaps of chocolate icing (again). The recipe for the vanilla is Bill Granger. I love his cookbooks and sadly he passed away a few years ago and I always say a little hello and thanks to him when I bake. His books are filled with his children and sweet notes to them. The chocolate is Alison Roman from Sweet Enough and it is the best chocolate cake recipe! It’s fun too as has a few steps. It is great for half quantity as my half seems to be a whole cake, the full recipe makes two layers Sonia massive. I’ll give this Angel a try
Yes!!! This has been my go-to summer potluck/dinner party/whatever dessert for a couple summers now – a giant lasagna pan trifle of ripped-up chunks of AFC, whipped cream and berries. Doesn’t even need to be fresh, a few hours of soaking up cream and berries does it no harm. SO good and the lowest-stress dessert of all time.
My very favorite birthday cake was the year I turned 10. Mom baked me an angel food cake, with white frosting and colorful sprinkles. I am 67 now and the memories of that cake make me so happy!
Do the boxes use cage free hens? As a feminist I can’t eat eggs since learning about how terribly female chickens are treated 😥
Feminism: Believing that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities and working to achieve gender equality by fighting against sexism and discrimination. I think the phrase you’re looking for is animal advocate…
I get the connection of standing against oppression, violence, and subjugation. Feminist theory is deeply interconnected with what we consume, how we spend our money, etc. etc. Have you heard of aquafaba? It works great for meringues, etc and many places one would use egg whites. I’m not a fan of Angel Food cake, but here’s one recipe I found: https://beplantwell.com/vegan-angel-food-cake/
Sarah, I allow myself to say that your post isn’t very respectful. Feminism has a lot of definitions, and we can feel drawn to one or another depending of our sensibilities. I qualify myself as feminist and was not surprised at Yaneli’s post, as for me feminism should always be ecofeminism. Men exploit women as they exploit nature and I do think that we should consider all of this as the same problem, and rise up against all oppressions.
Yay for a box mix. When I lived in Portland Oregon, I took a class through a bakery about how to make an angel food cake. The special cake pan was super pricey and the first thing the instructor said was, this won’t always turn out. What? I never bought the pan or used the recipe from the class. But I love angel food cake.
There are infinite angel food cake pans at thrift stores for a couple of bucks!
Ugh, what a way to teach! I haven’t found AFC to be particularly tricky. I’m a moderately good baker, for reference. It’s quite simple. I use loaf pans, since I am maxed out on baking pans. But I agree with Marla that they are pretty commonly in thrift stores.
Bundt pan = angle food cake pan for us home bakers.
One of my favorite childhood books is The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake by Nancy Willard. Amazing illustrations, fun writing, etc. It made me so excited to try angel food cake! Hate to say it, it I was disappointed. For me it’s still a favorite children’s book, and still a sad cake.
What a great birthday gift idea for a kid! The boo
I LOVED that book too!
Angel food cake’s more curvalicious cousin, the pound cake also deserves her flowers. And while we’re on the subject of throwback desserts – dirt! Chocolate pudding mixed up with crushed oreos and probably cool whip (do they still make that?). Pure childhood joy that i’m pretty sure would hold up today
Dirt!! This was my sister’s birthday dessert of choice growing up. She’s in her 30s now and my mom still makes it for her every year. Sometimes as “ghosts in the graveyard” (late Oct birthday) and sometimes in a plastic flower pot. So good.
And gummy worms in it!
I grew up in the 90s’ & Dirt Cake with oreos, cool whip, pudding mix, etc. was THE dessert. I had a working, single mom and we were on a tight budget so Dirt Cake wasn’t in the cards for my birthday treat back then. But I vowed to make it for my kids – and I do! It totally still holds up for classroom birthdays…at least today’s 2-4 year old crowd (& especially with the teachers!) :)
I *love* dirt cake/pudding!!!
Then there was the time our daughter spent a weekend with her grandparents, and we picked her up at dinnertime. After eating, our daughter said “ready for dessert?” Yes, of course! She was do excited: she and grandma came to the table with a big spoon and plates, pulled the potted plant from the center of the table, pulled out the flowers (artificial) and started scooping out the dirt! We were so surprised-thus was our introduction to delicious dirt pudding, and we will never forget it!
I never had “dirt”, but it reminds me of the time my mother had problems getting a chocolate cake out of the pie tins for some reason. It came out in pieces, so she chunked it up, put it in a bowl, and poured some chocolate pudding over the top. She called it cake-a-pudding, after a 60s gimmicky dessert called shake-a-pudding. Anyway, my kid memory is that it was delicious!!
Ha!! My almost 38-year-old husband has requested this nearly every year of our 14 years together. It’s him and the third graders. I’ll be making it next week! (Also a late October bday, KB!)
My grandmother made angel food cake for us as kids and it was the best. She iced it with a mix of powdered sugar and orange juice. It created a glaze that hardens on the outside, but also seeps gently into the cake. I made it for my kids recently and had a total Ratatouille moment bringing me straight back to my grandmother’s kitchen. Great post!
Wild. I asked my boyfriend what his favorite cake is. He said “angel food cake with strawberries” I said “you must mean pound cake?” No.” “Shortcake?” “No — angel food cake.” I had no idea anyone actually liked this cake. And here you all are acting like this is perfectly normal.
I agree–I’m a sucker for any baked good but I could be hungry and I still wouldn’t eat angel food cake! Good for them, not for me, haha!
Hahaha Louisa I’m right there with you. Angel food cake is like a slightly sweet dish sponge to me!
Thank you!! So glad someone else said what I am thinking. I grew up on angel food cake in the 40’s and 50’s. My mom was a fantastic baker but for some reason which I can’t fathom, that was her favorite cake, even though it was from a box. I just find it incredibly underwhelming and boring no matter how it’s dressed up. The ” slightly sweet dish sponge” comment pretty much sums it up for me too.
Same! It’s truly the only cake I say no to! Cake with fat, please!
Ha! Louisa, I agree! My dad always requested AFC for every birthday. I always thought, “really?” It’s nice to think of my dad with all you AFC lovers, though!
It was my grandmothers favorite cake. So many wonderful memories of family parties from the 1990s!
Confession: before this post, I had read of Angel Food Cake in passing, but for some reason never took the time to look up what it is. Now I have, and once I can get my hands on an aluminum pan, I’ll make one :) Does it have to be a bundt cake pan, or could I use a small three-tiered cake one? And my personal bonus: now I finally know what the idea behind “Engelskuchen” in my German version of The Sims is :D (Skill level needed: 10/10!)
Okay, I haven’t tried this myself, but I’m very curious about this little hack involving a regular springform pan and a can. Would love to hear how it goes if you give it a try! https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/turn-any-cake-pan-into-angel-food-cake-pan-article
I’ve had frequent success with bread pans (aka, what you use for banana bread). I believe the important part of the bundt pan is that consistent, quick heat.
I improvised once with a Pyrex mixing bowl and a stack of silicone cupcake baking cups as the pillar in the center, worked great!
My sister and I LOVED angel food cake growing up in the 90s. It also turned into an obsession with angel hair pasta, as we felt they must have been from the same family as the cake!
Same! All the angel food things!
Growing up, Angel Food Cake was one of my two options as a birthday dessert. The other was fruit salad. Nothing like being reminded that you are a chubby kid and having your whole family witness.
Oh, Colleen, that sounds so hurtful!
Colleen- I felt this. One year my mother, in the days leading up to my birthday, said ‘no one here needs any birthday cake’. I have never been able to enjoy a birthday dessert since.
This sucks. I hope you both have the best birthday cake ever this year !!!
Oh Colleen, how horribly you were treated! Everyone deserves a childhood full of lovely memories like many of these comments show, not of derision and cruelty. I hope you have been able to create an adulthood with compassion and joy for yourself.
Ooof. That hurts!
This article felt like a hug in so many ways. The matriarchs of my family are not known for their baking prowess so my birthday cake every year was an angel food cake with whipped cream and crushed up heath bars (crushing up candy was the extent of my mother’s culinary talents). And let me tell you, it’s still the greatest cake of all time because it was made from a box and with so much love. Going to make one tonight for my kids following the same recipe as handed down to me :)
I had a friend in college whose birthday cake was always a homemade ice cream cake made in a spring form pan with angel food cake as the cake part, and ice cream layered on. It’s really the best thing, endlessly customizable, and I love getting to see what versions her kids ask for each year! (And I think maybe I need to make one for myself this weekend–).
This post made me tear up a bit. AFC (from a mix) was always my dad’s birthday cake. He’s been gone for 22 years now, but this really just brought him and celebrating him right back – big time.
This comment brought a lump to my throat. What a great memory. Thinking of you, and your dad too. xo
That’s lovely xx
My mother used to make a simple lemon sauce for store-bought angel food cake that was so delicious. I’ve tried and tried to find a recipe but have never had any luck. I think it involved lemon pudding mix and cool whip? Any ideas?
This sounds similar to my mom’s topping for orange jello “salad” at Thanksgiving, but it’s not a sauce, more of a fluffy and spreadable: 3 3/4 oz-size package of lemon instant pudding mix, mix with 1 cup cold milk, fold in 1 cup of Cool Whip (“You just fold it in! I cannot show you everything.”).
Haha, Midge! Love your Mother-quote!
Bring back green jello with grated carrots. Ever notice jello has no flavors, just colors?
Sorry, what?!??! Carrots and jello? Mixed into the jello? Is this a US region-specific tradition? Very confused Australian here. Tell me more! Overall though – yes to rainbow layered jello (jelly to me) for birthdays! And our jelly in Aus definitely does have flavour beyond “sugar”.
lol oh Katie…..all of North America had quite the love affair with jello in the past;) Just google “vintage jello recipes” or “jello salad”! I’m so glad we moved beyond this!!
There is an angel food cake pan out there. I remember my mother having one in her kitchen. Like a Bundt cake pan but without the round indents.
Yes! I like when they are a sort of bundt/springform hybrid like https://www.nordicware.com/products/naturals-2-piece-angelfood-pan-with-removable-cone/
Yes, I have one! They look like this: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/paderno-professional-uncoated-aluminum-angel-food-cake-pan-silver-1427981p.html
Karyn and Larissa, I had that exact cake pan my whole life. I’m 66. I think it was my mom’s. Sadly, I think it got lost in my move 3 years ago. It has not made an appearance here. I used to stand it upside down on a bottle to cool. Can’t quite remember why now ! Ha.
This is the moment that I learned that angel food cake pans and Bundt pans are not the same thing.
Yes, Karyn’s link is to an angel food pan. A bundt pan is different, and often non-stick. An angel food pan should have a removable bottom. You run a butter knife around the inside to loosen the sides and separate the pieces. Then run the knife around the bottom to separate the cake from the bottom, which becomes the top when flipped on a plate. You invert it onto a bottle to cool so that the cake doesn’t fall flat, or so I was led to believe. I have my mother’s OG pan in my kitchen right now. Obviously, after reading this post and all the comments, I need to make a cake, too!
Revisit casseroles, please! Such comfort food with this Autumn weather and the world in chaos.
HUGE angel food cake fan, probably because my (now passed) mother adored it. We always add lemon zest to the cake batter and make a tart lemony glaze for the top – dreamy.
Thanks Janet. I am going to try this version next time. I always have an emergency angle food cake mix in my pantry.
Oof I have the privilege of baking an angel food cake with strawberries and cream for my daughter’s birthday on Saturday and I’m kind of terrified. We’re celebrating on a boat so I have to keep all the components cold. I can’t imagine assembling it beforehand so imagine me bobbing around the Atlantic while a bunch of thirteen year olds are sunning themselves and I’m maneuvering in a tiny galley trying to make a presentable birthday cake. I mean, I can imagine it but I’m dreading it. Anyone have any tips? 😂
No tips, but wow, this will make a good story one day.
Can you plan to just put it in little cups for everyone, with a special candle for birthday girl? The idea of you bobbing about with a full cake seems too challenging! Maybe that way you could prep the strawberries in the cups beforehand, then add the cake and whipped cream? (I fear the cake would get too soggy if put in with the cream ahead of time)
Put the whipped cream in a ziploc bag, squish it all the way to 1 corner of the bag. Bring scissors on the boat, snip off the corner & squeeze the cream onto the cake (sort of like a piping bag). Probably would work with the strawberries too – just need to cut a bigger hole! Then, just toss the ziploc bags in the trash afterwards – no mess!
Both excellent ideas! Thank you!! Now imagine it’s 82 degrees because it will be hot on Saturday. Hahaha
This sounds like a reason to buy canned whipped cream and stress less! Chop the berries ahead of time to macerate in a bit of sugar. Hope you are taking all the 13 year olds to the No Kings march first! :)
I love angel food cake, but I have to disagree that boxed is just as good. I also have found over time that many people do not have the same love for it as I do when I’ve brought it to work potlucks. I wanted to share a fun trick that I learned from the cookbook Brave Tart. You can toast your sugar in the oven at a low temp until it gets a little golden before you make your angel food cake. It tempers the sweetness and provides a little bit of a caramelized flavor. Delicious!