Angel food cake Angel food cake Angel food cake, or angel cake, is a type of sponge cake made with egg whites, flour, and sugar. A whipping agent, such as cream of tartar, is commonly added. It differs from other cakes because it uses no butter. Its structure comes from whipped egg whites known as a protein foam. Angel food cake originated in the United States and first became popular in the late 19th century. It gained its unique reputation along with its name due to its light and fluffy texture, said to resemble the "food of the angels". Angel food cake requires
Sponge cake places where European patisserie has spread, including the Anglo-Jewish "plava", Italian génoise, the Portuguese pão-de-ló, and the possibly ancestral Italian "pan di Spagna" ("Spanish bread"). Derivatives of the basic sponge cake idea include the American chiffon cake and the Latin American tres leches cake. The essential ingredients are eggs, fat (often butter), sugar, and flour. An authentic British sponge cake is made by first mixing the fat with the sugar and then beating the eggs with the sugar-fat mix until the mixture is light and creamy, then carefully sieving and folding in the flour. Depending on the recipe, the flour