After much experimenting, I have finally perfected Keto Angel Food Cake! It’s light and airy, with the perfect angel food texture. It’s completely grain-free and dairy-free.
This keto angel food cake represents an absolute triumph for keto baking. Perfectly light and airy, sweet and delicious, just as real angel food cake should be.
I have to be very honest and say I was on the fence about publishing this recipe right now, given the current state of the world. But so many of you have written, asking me to keep doing what I do best, baking and sharing recipes. We need these little bright spots, perhaps now more than ever.
I am committed to bringing you other great keto recipes that help you make healthy and easy keto meals during this time of uncertainty as well. It won’t be all cakes and cookies and butterflies over here, I promise. Be sure to check out this collection of easy keto dinners if you need a little inspiration.
The perfect keto angel food cake
It took me a long time to get this right, my friends. A lot of attempts, a lot of failures, and a lot of research. And a lot of sunken, overly dense keto angel food cake.
It all tasted good, so rest assured that it was not wasted. We found good homes for the failed cakes. Most notably, in our bellies!
I have to admit, I was very close to giving up. But I then I had a major breakthrough when I made the Chiffon Cake in The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking. After a few attempts on that cake, I got the proportions of flour and protein powder JUST right.
And I knew I had to give keto angel food cake one more try.
This cake truly is keto-friendly!
When I was doing research on how to make angel food cake, I came across a number of cakes that called themselves keto.
I have to admit, was aghast that they all took either arrowroot starch or tapioca starch. And not just a little, either. One recipe took a full cup of starch.
I knew it had to be possible to make it without any starch whatsoever. And turns out I was right!
How to make keto angel food cake
Even conventional angel food cake takes some effort to make properly. This is a good baking project when you have some time on your hands and are up for a challenge! A few important do’s and dont’s:
Don’t grease the pan
Angel food cake needs to “climb” the sides of the pan and greasing the sides interferes with this.
Do line the bottom with parchment
This is critical for the easy release of the cake once it has cooled. I have clear instructions about how to line a tube pan with parchment in the recipe notes.
Do consider weighing your dry ingredients
Accuracy is crucial for angel food cake recipes, which is why I provided the exact weights for my almond flour and protein powder.
Do use protein powder
Protein powder is part of what allows keto angel food cake to rise and have the proper structure. You will need it for this recipe and I recommend egg white protein. Whey protein should also work but I haven’t tested that out properly.
Do sift your flour mixture properly
Sifting the flour thoroughly helps the cake be lighter and fluffier. If you don’t have a good sieve for sifting, then spend some time fluffing up the flour mixture with a fork.
Don’t invert the cake pan right away
Traditional angel food cake has you inverting the pan the minute it comes out of the oven, to avoid heaviness at the bottom of the cake. But I found it was important to let the cake cool for 20 minutes before inverting it.
How to store keto angel food cake
One of the great parts about this cake is that it can be made ahead and frozen! Just be sure to wrap it up tightly. I have half of my last cake in there as I write this.
If you aren’t planning on freezing it, it’s fine on the counter for 4 days, covered. Place plastic wrap over any cut ends to keep them from drying out.
What to do with leftover egg yolks
I have many answers for that! Check out these 35 great keto recipes for leftover egg yolks.
You can also simply add a few extra yolks to an omelet or to my Easy Taco Pie. The yolks will keep in your fridge for 3 days or so. I store mine in glass jars.
Bon appetit! I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Keto Angel Food Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (91 g) Swerve Granular
- 1/2 cup (91 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 3/4 cups (175 g) almond flour, (about 175g)
- 1/2 cup (40 g) egg white protein powder, (about 40g)
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 10 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cream of tartar
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in the second lowest position and preheat the oven to 325F. Line the bottom with parchment paper (see recipe notes). Do not grease the pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the granular and powdered sweeteners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, half the sweetener mixture, and the salt. Use a sieve or strainer to sift the flour mixture into another large bowl. Do this back and forth between the bowls 3 times.
- If you do not have a sieve, simply use a fork to fluff up the mixture for several minutes, to break up clumps and make it lighter and airier.
- In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until frothy. With the beaters running, slowly add the remaining sweetener until the whites hold medium peaks (the tips should flop over slightly when the beaters are lifted).
- Add the extracts and continue to beat until the whites hold stiff peaks (tips should stand up straight when beaters are lifted).
- In four separate additions, carefully fold the flour mixture into the egg whites until well combined (a large silicone spatula works best for this). Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl well to mix in any ingredients that may have settled there.
- Spread the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top. Wipe off any drops of batter from the sides, and lightly tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the top is uniformly golden and springs back when lightly pressed.
- Remove and let cool in the pan 20 minutes, then turn the pan upside down and let cool completely.
- Run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan, and around the tube in the center, to loosen the cake. If the pan has a removable bottom, you can simply push up to release the cake. Otherwise, invert the pan over a cake plate and tap the bottom to release the cake.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
The cake was easy to make and bake. I used egg whites from a carton (because the price of eggs are so high) and I used a fine almond flour (from Aldi). I think if I used a super fine almond flour the texture would have been lighter. The version I made was good, not as high as a store-bought angel food cake and a little grainy. The taste was wonderful with the mix of almond flavoring and home-made vanilla.
A lot of it is the cartoned egg whites… I get why you used them but it does make a difference!
How much did the egg whites weight (dry vs carton)?
I don’t have an Angel Food cake pan, so I’m wondering… Will this recipe work in a loaf pan or would it be too much batter? I do have two loaf pans. Thank you!
I made this today and oh my goodness it is so good!!! thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipe! !!!
Wonderful recipe! I made this cake today and it was delicious. It was a lot of work – very much worth it! Excellent directions!
Thanks to the person who posted that Swerve changed to allulose! I stopped using Swerve because of erythritol. It gave me explosive diarrhea.
I will buy it again, especially to make this recipe!
I followed your recipe exactly using fresh eggs (whites only) from our hens. You have really outdone yourself with this recipe! The taste and texture is perfect. It is better than a sugar and chemical laden boxed mix any day. Be sure to follow Carolyn’s directions/tips and you cannot fail! ❤️
We went to the FL Strawberry Festival yesterday. That required baking your Angel Food Cake for strawberry shortcake. My husband LOVES this cake! My concern is the change in Swerve granular. I’m almost out of the original Swerve. Now that they’ve changed it to include allulose, will that change the outcome? Should I start using erythritol instead? Thanks for all the wonderful recipes!
Not only was this cake doable with simple ingredients, the taste and texture made it a HUGE hit! Last night we celebrated my daughter in law’s birthday and her all time favorite cake is Angel Food. You and I both scored points with this recipe!
So glad you liked it!
This looks so good! Im trying it out this week. But can you please tell me, can I rather just use powdered sweetner. Ive struggled to find a sweetner that I like. And for some reason I found a South African brand where the powdered version works great for me but the granular version have a cooling after taste. Thank you!
Powdered sweetener should be fine.
what can I substitute for egg white powder?
Whey protein powder works.
Just made this cake today. It’s delicious ! I followed the recipe exactly and it came out looking beautiful!
Can you use this instead of the one you list? It doesn’t have lecitin in it.
It’s Just! – Egg White Protein Powder, Dried Egg Whites Protein, Meringue Ingredient, Non-GMO, USA Farms, Unflavored (8oz) https://a.co/d/5MSYHew
That’s fine, I’ve used that one a lot.
Thank you!
Growing up, my sisters and I chose what we wanted for dinner and cake for our birthdays.My angel food cake just came out of the oven! Third time to use this recipe, thanks so much for making it keto! My 67th birthday is tomorrow!!
Happy Birthday!
I use to make Angel Food Cake from scratch with my Grandmother; her recipe used one dozen egg whites. Oh it was so good! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
We use to make noodles with the egg yolks. I haven’t seen one on your web site; I was wondering if you could give us another wonderful recipe, one making noodles.
Thanks so much Carolyn.
Hi Carolyn, I made this cake today and I followed the instructions very closely, the only change I made was I used Purecane sweeteners because Swerve sweeteners don’t agree with me. My problem is that the finished product was not a batter at all, but a very dry and crumbly dough. And sure enough, it came out dry and crumbly. Any ideas what I did wrong? I used Blue Diamond almond flour and the other ingredients were pretty standard.
Help? I’m out of ideas here! :\
Is this the one you used? -> https://purecane.com/products/purecane-baking-sweetener-new
One thing that stands out to me in the ingredient list is the “soluble fiber”. The added fiber may be causing the batter to become a dough. Of course that’s not how it’s supposed to be as you can see from my video! I can’t be certain that’s the issue… what size were your eggs?
The prep took just a bit to get all the eggs separated, but I will definitely make this cake again. It’s delicious! It’s so nice to know I have a sugar-free dessert waiting for me at the end of the day!