Angel Food Cake with Raspberries and Cream

This Angel Food Cake with Raspberries and Cream is always a hit! Make homemade angel food cake flavored with almond or use a boxed mix. Fill and top the cake with raspberry-almond whipped cream and fresh raspberries!

This Angel Food Cake with Raspberries and Cream needs to go on your "Must-Make List," pronto. It's a big hit in my family and many others'.

Once you make it, you'll get requests for it over and over! It's perfect for birthdays, spring or summer holidays, anniversaries and anytime you're craving a fresh raspberry dessert.

Think fluffy, almond angel food cake filled and topped with raspberry-almond whipped cream...OMG!!!

And if you're excited about this recipe, don't miss my family's Orange Sponge Cake with Whipped Cream!

Homemade angel food vs boxed or store-bought

Before we dive into this angel food cake recipe, I feel the need to impart some important information.

Forget store-bought angel food cake! It's dry. And, who knows how long it's been sitting there?

You have two, far-better options:

1. You can make angel food cake from scratch, as I've done here. Homemade angel food cake is soft, fluffy and divine. It blows the store-bought one out of the water!
2. You can use a boxed angel food cake mix. If you need convenience and are tempted to buy a premade cake, I urge you to go for the cake mix. The freshly baked cake that emerges from your oven will be five times better than store-bought angel food. (And those come from a mix anyway.)

Recipe ingredients

Angel food cake is a sponge cake made without egg yolks. Unlike regular cake, there is no butter or oil.

Angel food cake contains egg whites, flour, sugar and cream of tartar. Don't use the egg whites sold in a carton, because they won't work well here.

In this recipe, a little salt, vanilla and almond extract add delicious flavor to the batter. And don't forget the raspberries-and-cream filling!

Raspberries: Use fresh raspberries, not frozen. You need beautiful berries to decorate your angel food cake. Plus, the frozen ones will give off too much liquid for the raspberry cream filling.

Raspberry Fruit Spread: You'll need this to make the raspberry whipped cream. I always use a fruit spread (affiliate link), since it contains less sugar than jelly. But feel free to substitute raspberry jelly or jam.

Raspberry preserves would probably taste good but might be too chunky for the whipped cream.

Cream of Tartar: This is critical to stabilize the egg whites, so the cake doesn't fall apart. Don't skip it!

How to make angel food cake

See the recipe card at the end of this post for full instructions, but here's an overview.

Separate the eggs - tips & tricks

You'll need a dozen egg whites, and they can't have any trace of yolk in them. It's easiest to separate eggs while they're cold. I use an egg separator (affiliate link).

Tip: Drip one egg white at a time into a liquid measuring cup. Then add the single egg white to your mixing bowl. If you mess up, you'll just have to replace one egg white.

Beat the egg whites

You'll need to beat the egg whites for several minutes to get stiff peaks. A stand mixer (affiliate link) comes in handy.

1. Add the egg whites and flavor extracts to a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer).
2. Beat until frothy. Sprinkle on the cream of tartar.
3. Beat until the egg whites have soft peaks.
4. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the egg whites are glossy and have stiff peaks. They shouldn't fall over.

Bake the batter in a tube pan

1. Fold the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites.
2. Transfer the angel food batter to an ungreased 10-inch tube pan (affiliate link) and smooth the top with a spatula.
3. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 40-45 minutes. The cake should be golden brown and dry on top. When you gently press your finger on the surface, you shouldn't see an indentation.
4. Place the pan of angel food cake upside down over a funnel to cool. If you don't have a funnel, place the pan of cake upside down on a cooling rack.

Make the raspberry-almond whipped cream

1. Add the heavy whipping cream and almond extract to a large, stainless steel bowl. (It will work better than the glass bowl shown here.)
2. Beat until frothy, then gradually add the raspberry fruit spread and confectioners sugar. Beat until the whipped cream is stiff.
3. Place ⅓ of the whipped cream into a small bowl. Add half of the raspberries.
4. Fold in the raspberries with a rubber spatula until combined.

Assemble the angel food cake with raspberries

1. Split the cooled angel food cake into two halves using a serrated knife.
2. Dig out a tunnel in the bottom half by gently pulling out morsels of cake. Don't dig all the way to the bottom. You can stuff your face with all the morsels, since they aren't needed for the finished product.
3. Fill the ditch with the small portion of whipped cream that has the fresh raspberries mixed in. Spread the raspberry cream filling all over the bottom half of the angel food cake.
4. Place the top half of the cake over the bottom one, keeping the browned surface on top. Spread on the remaining raspberry-almond whipped cream.

Decorate the angel food cake with fresh raspberries. You can place all of them on top or also place some on the sides and around the bottom. You'll probably do a better job than I did!

How to serve it

Slice the raspberry angel food cake with a serrated knife and serve it just the way it is. Or, feel free to douse each slice with liqueur such as amaretto or Chambord, which has a raspberry flavor.

Oh, behave!

Frequently asked questions

More cakes to love

• Single-Layer Carrot Cake without Nuts
• Sour Cream Pound Cake
• Oreo Ice Cream Cake with Caramel Sauce
• The Best Jewish Apple Cake
• Torta Caprese (Flourless Chocolate-Almond Cake)

Enjoy! And, if you love raspberry desserts, be sure to check out my Triple-Chocolate Brownies with Raspberries!

If you try this Angel Food Cake with Raspberries and Cream, be sure to leave a comment and a rating!

Angel Food Cake with Raspberries and Cream

This Angel Food Cake with Raspberries and Cream is always a hit! Make homemade angel food cake flavored with almond or use a boxed mix.

5 from 6 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 440kcal

Author: Mamma C

Ingredients

Dry Mixture

• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

Egg White Mixture

• ▢ 12 large egg whites (Separate the eggs yourself instead of buying egg whites from a carton. See notes.)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 teaspoon almond extract
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
• ▢ ¾ cup sugar

Raspberry-Almond Whipped Cream

• ▢ 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon almond extract
• ▢ ¾ cup raspberry fruit spread (Such as Smuckers Simply Fruit, or use jam or jelly.)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar

For filling and decoration:

• ▢ 2 6-ounce packages fresh raspberries (Divided use. Don't use frozen berries.)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

•  Set out an ungreased 10-inch tube pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (1 cup flour, ¾ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon salt) together. Set the bowl aside.
• Separate the eggs, placing one egg white at a time into a liquid measuring cup and then adding that one egg white to a large mixing bowl (use a stand mixer bowl, if you have one.) There must not be any yolk or shell in your whites. If any yolk gets into your egg white, you will need to replace the egg white. (You can place the yolks into a storage container to save in the refrigerator for another use within 2-4 days.)
• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. (The cake will need to bake on the center rack, so make sure there is enough room above it. You may have to adjust the top rack.)
• Add the vanilla and almond extract to the bowl of egg whites. Beat with a mixer, using a whisk attachment, on medium high for about a minute, just until the whites are frothy.
• Sprinkle the cream of tartar on top of the foamy whites and continue beating on medium high until soft peaks form, which should take 2-3 minutes.
• Add the sugar ¼ cup at a time (¾ cup sugar total) until fully incorporated. Continue beating until glossy, stiff peaks form. (See the photo in the post.) The peaks should stand up firmly; if they fall over, they're still too soft. It will take several minutes.
• Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites, until you no longer see any flour in the bowl.
• Transfer the batter to the ungreased angel food cake pan. Smooth the top with your spatula.
• Place the pan on the center rack of your oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. (If you used extra-large egg whites, allow an extra 5-10 minutes for baking.) The cake is done when it's golden brown on top, the cake springs back when lightly touched, and any cracks are dry to the touch. You should not see an indentation from your finger after pressing the cake's surface.
• Let the angel food cool by placing the cake upside down onto a funnel (the spout goes into the hole of the pan.) If you don't have a funnel, try a bottle with a narrow spout, or place the cake upside down on a cooling rack.
• While your cake is baking, gently rinse the raspberries and remove any debris. Place the berries pointy-side up on paper towels to dry.
• To make the whipped cream, place the heavy whipping cream in a clean, large, stainless steel mixing bowl. Add in the almond extract and beat with a mixer until frothy. Gradually add the fruit spread and confectioners sugar, beating until combined. Continue beating until you have stiff whipped cream.
• Pat the raspberries dry with a paper towel. Place about ⅓ of the whipped cream into a small bowl. Stir in 6 ounces of the raspberries (use half of them).
• When your cake is cool, slide a knife around the edges of the pan and gently remove the cake, placing in onto a dinner plate, right side up. Have another dinner plate ready for when you split the cake in half.
• To assemble the angel food layer cake, use a serrated knife to split the cake in half horizontally, into two equal layers. (See photos.) Set the top half aside on an extra plate.
• Dig out a tunnel in the bottom cake layer by gently pulling out morsels of cake about one inch from the edges all around and one inch from the center. Do not dig all the way to the bottom; you are making a ditch for the whipped cream. You can eat the cake morsels you pulled out; they're not needed for the cake.
• If you'll be using a cake stand, place the bottom half of the cake on the cake stand before assembling and decorating. Fill the cake tunnel with the small portion of whipped cream that has the raspberries mixed in. Spread it over the bottom cake layer too.
• Place the top cake layer over the bottom layer, keeping the browned part on top. Frost the cake with the remaining whipped cream, making sure to cover the top, sides and inside the center hole.
• Decorate the cake with the remaining 6 ounces of raspberries.
• The cake can be eaten right away, but tastes great chilled. Serve plain or with liqueur like amaretto or Chambord drizzled on top, if desired. Store leftover cake covered in the refrigerator for up to four days. Don't freeze it (because of the whipped cream).

Notes

• If you decide to use a cake mix instead of making this from scratch, add 1 teaspoon of almond extract to the mix. After baking, cool the cake in the pan by placing it upside down over a funnel or narrow bottle as directed above.
• Make sure you have at least a couple of extra eggs on hand in case you mess up while separating the whites.

Nutrition

Calories: 440kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 177mg | Potassium: 225mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 885IU | Vitamin C: 9.7mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 0.8mg

Tried this Recipe? Mention @cookingwithmammac or tag #CookingWithMammaC!

(Recipe Source: Cooking with Mamma C. Angel food base adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Originally published on April 29, 2017 and updated now with new photos and additional information.)