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Home ยป Recipes ยป Cake Recipes

Indulgent Chocolate Angel Food Cake

Updated: Oct 4, 2023 by Mindee ยท This post may contain affiliate links ยท 3 Comments

What if I told you that angel food cake can come in a chocolate flavor? What if I told you that you could make it from scratch, without a box mix, and that it's an easy dessert, too? Topped with strawberries and whipped cream or chocolate sauce or even chocolate whipped cream, this amazing cake with be your new addiction!

Wedges of this chocolate angel food cake with fresh whipped cream.
Wedges of this indulgent dessert with fresh whipped cream.
Jump to:
  • Why You'll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Couple Things You'll Need
  • Step by Step Instructions
  • Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
  • Related Dessert Recipes
  • Indulgent Chocolate Angel Food Cake Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

  • This bakery-style sponge cake is easy!
  • Can be drizzled with icing, chocolate glaze, or even frosted with Chocolate Frosting!
  • Could be used to make a trifle instead of layered with chocolate pudding or mousse!
  • Make it into cupcakes instead!

Ingredient Notes

  • Flour - all-purpose flour, not cake flour, never self-rising flour.
  • Egg Whites - Fresh eggs work best because the proteins in the fresh whites are tighter and stronger. It takes a little longer to get the fresh egg whites to stiff peaks, but the foam is thicker, stronger, and more stable. Older whites whip up faster but can easily deflate and are much less stable.
  • Cocoa - Most brands of unsweetened cocoa powder are fine; however, I DO NOT recommend using Hershey's brand cocoa because, to me, it has a bitter, throw-up taste. Some experts believe that's because some companies, such as Hershey's, put their milk through a process called controlled lipolysis. This breaks down the fatty acids in the milk and produces butyric acid - the chemical that gives vomit its very distinctive smell and acrid taste. So yeah...that's a pass for me.
  • Cream of Tartar - many are looking for this recipe without cream of tartar. The primary function of cream of tartar is to stabilize the egg white and keep the whipped whites from collapsing. Whether you've run out or you don't want to use cream or tartar for another reason, you could substitute ยฝ teaspoon lemon juice or ยฝ teaspoon white vinegar in its place.
  • Sugar - Please note you will be using both granulated sugar and powdered sugar, aka confectioners' sugar, in this recipe.
  • Mexican - sift 1-2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon with the cocoa.
  • Dark Chocolate - Sub equal amount of black cocoa for regular cocoa.
Ingredients for chocolate angel food cake.
Ingredients to make chocolate angel food cake.

Couple Things You'll Need

Step by Step Instructions

  • Adjust the rack in your oven so that your cake will be baking right in the center of the oven.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Get out a 2-piece 10-inch tube pan like the one below. The pictures below show me using a piece tube pan, but after testing this recipe a few times, I found that this cake is much easier to remove from a 2 piece pan with a removable bottom rather than a piece. You can still use a 1 piece tube pan, but you may have a hard time getting the cake out in one piece.
  • Give your pan and all other equipment a quick wash with a good dish soap.
  • Any grease, even the tiniest bit, can cause your egg whites to break.
A 2 piece 10 inch tube pan for angel food or sponge cakes.
A 2-piece 10-inch tube pan.
  • In a medium bowl, measure the flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder into a sifter. If you don't have a sifter, check out these tips here.
  • Sift these ingredients 3 times!!! This is important!
  • Set flour mixture aside.
The sifting of the flour, powdered sugar and cocoa three times for a light airy cake.
The sifting of the flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa three times for a light, airy cake.
  • Separate your egg whites and egg yolks, being careful not to get any yolks in the whites.
  • You need 1 ยฝ cups of egg whites, which is roughly 12 eggs worth of eggs.
  • Pour the egg whites into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
  • Add the vanilla extract, salt, and cream of tartar.
  • Begin to beat egg whites at a high speed.
  • When the egg whites start to get foamy, just before soft peaks form, pour the cup of granulated sugar in a slow stream and continue beating.
  • Beat at a high speed until stiff peaks form.
Add vanilla and cream of tartar to egg whites before beating to stiff peaks.
Add vanilla and cream of tartar to egg whites before beating to stiff peaks.
  • Spoon about a ยฝ cupful of the sifted dry ingredients over the beaten egg whites.
  • FOLD, don't stir, the sifted ingredients into the egg white mixture.
  • As one addition of sifted ingredients is halfway folded, spoon in another ยฝ cupful and continue folding.
  • Repeat until all the sifted ingredients have been folded in.
  • Gently spoon the chocolate batter into your UNGREASED tube pan.
Fold the sifted cocoa mixture into the egg whites.
Fold the sifted cocoa mixture into the egg whites.
  • Run a butter knife through the batter in a circle to release any large air bubbles or air pockets and to smooth out the batter.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
  • Immediately invert the pan over a wire rack, and DO NOT remove the outer piece of the tube pan yet.
  • Don't worry; the baked cake will not fall out.
  • Let the cake cool completely while upside down at room temperature.
  • After cooling, run a sharp, thin knife around the sides of the pan, both the outer rim and the center tube.
  • Remove the cake from the outer piece.
  • Run the sharp knife under the bottom of the inner tube pan piece.
  • Remove the cake and place it on a serving plate, or store it in an airtight container until you're ready to serve it.
  • Slice in wedges and serve with fresh berries and whipped cream!
Spread batter in tube pan, bake, invert and release the cake.
Spread batter in a tube pan, bake, invert, and release the cake.

Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips

How do I fold the flour/sugar into the egg whites?

Folding is really easy, but some things are better explained visually than with words, so check out this video on How to Fold in Ingredients for more instructions.

What can I do with the egg yolks?

I can understand not wanting to throw away all those yolks. I hate wasting food too! I will often use up my yolks for the vanilla sauce that goes with these Sweet Berry Crepes or this Berries and Cream Croissant French Toast!

What can I put on angel food cake?

Strawberries and fresh whipped cream are the norm, but you can use a chocolate filling like pudding or mousse instead of whipped cream. Then, drizzle the wedges with chocolate sauce or glaze. You can even pipe chocolate ganache on the pieces as well!

Related Dessert Recipes

  • Scrumptious Cream Cheese Pound Cake
  • Fresh Peach Pound Cake
  • Vanilla Raspberry Cake
  • Mini Eclairs
  • Easy Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Have you tried this recipe? If so, leave me a rating and a comment below! And don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter to get my latest recipes sent right to your email! You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram!

Plate of chocolate angel food cake wedges with strawberries.

Indulgent Chocolate Angel Food Cake Recipe

Mindee
What if I told you that angel food cake can come in a chocolate flavor?ย  What if I told you that you could make it from scratch, without a box mix, and that it's an easy dessert, too?ย  Topped with strawberries and whipped cream or chocolate sauce or even chocolate whipped cream, this amazing cake with be your new addiction!
4.67 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 35 minutes mins
Total Time 55 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 serving
Calories 125 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • ยพ Cup Flour
  • ยฝ Cup Cocoa
  • 1 ยฝ Cups Egg Whites this is about 12 large eggs
  • ยฝ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • ยฝ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Cup Sugar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust oven racks if necessary for the cake to be right in the center of the oven.ย ย 
  • Be sure that all kitchen equipment you will be using is completely free of any grease.ย  Even though already clean, I usually give mine anย extra hand scrubย to be sure there is not any grease as even the tiniest bit will ruin the cake.
  • Siftย the powdered sugar, flour, and cocoa togetherย 3 times.ย  Set aside.
  • Pour the egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt into a mixing bowl.
  • Begin toย beatย at a high speed.
  • Once the egg whites start to foam up, add the sugar in a slow and steady stream with the beaters still running.
  • Continue to beat on high until stiff peaks form.
  • FOLD, not stir the flour/powdered sugar/cocoa into the egg whites a ยฝ cup at a time.ย ย 
  • Once the previous ยฝ cup has been folded in halfway, add the next ยฝ cup.ย 
  • Repeat until all the flour/powdered sugar has been added and is completely folded in.
  • Gently spoon the batter into an UNGREASEDย 2-piece 10-inch tube pan.ย ย 
  • Run a sharp knife in a clockwise (or counterclockwise) circle around the tube pan to even out the batter and pop large air bubbles, but not deflate the batter.
  • Bake at 350 degrees in the center of the oven for 35 minutes.ย ย 
  • IMMEDIATELY, invert the hot cake and set the tube pan upside down on a wire rack to cool after removing it from the oven.ย ย 
  • Do not remove the outside piece of the tube yet.ย  Allow the angel food cake to cool completely while upside down.
  • Once cool, flip back over and run a sharp knife around the outside edge and inside the tube.ย 
  • Remove the outside piece of the pan if using a 2-piece tube pan, and then remove the cake from the inside piece.ย ย 
  • Slice with a serrated knife and serve with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Notes

  • Be sure to clean your equipment well.ย  Any grease will break your egg whites.
  • A 2-piece 10-inch tube pan is preferred for this recipe.ย  This cake is fairly difficult to remove from a 1 piece tube pan in 1 piece.
  • Out of cream of tartar?ย  Sub ยฝ teaspoon Lemon Juice or ยฝ teaspoon White Vinegar instead.
  • Mexicanย - sift 1-2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon with the cocoa.
  • Dark Chocolateย - Sub equal amount of black cocoa for regular cocoa.

Nutrition

Calories: 125kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.001gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.001gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 0.2mgSodium: 81mgPotassium: 57mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 0.4mg
Keyword chocolate angel food cake, chocolate angel food cake from scratch, mexican angel food cake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Thanks for stopping by! Before you go, be sure to check out a few of my most popular recipes!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jennifer

    March 17, 2023 at 12:16 pm

    I followed the directions (and it tastes delicious) but the cake isnโ€™t as high as I think it should be. Any suggestions?

    Reply
  2. Mindee

    May 29, 2021 at 8:25 am

    So easy!!!

    Reply
  3. Greg

    March 20, 2021 at 3:51 am

    Five freaking stars is the appropriate number of stars for this twist on an already great desert. Delicious. Thanks Mindee!!!

    Reply
4.67 from 3 votes

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