Strawberry Shortcake Angel Food Cake
Strawberry Shortcake Angel Food Cake is the dessert recipe you need in your baking queue right now. Pillowy soft, light-as-air sponge cake meets salty-sweet coconut dulce de leche buttercream and a smattering of fresh fruits in this fun take on the springtime classic. One bite and I promise you’ll be smitten!
Servings: 8 Slices
Calories: 398kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Small Angel Food Cake
- 50 g Granulated Sugar
- 60 g All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 7 Fresh Egg Whites
- 1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
- 100 g Granulated Sugar
- Strawberries, Mandarins, Raspberries for garnish
- Demerara Sugar for garnish
Coconut Dulche de Leche
- 1 13.5 oz can Coconut Milk
- 150 g Brown Sugar packed
- Pinch of Salt
Coconut Dulce de Leche Buttercream
- 75 g Egg Whites
- 150 g Granulated Sugar
- 225 g Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 100 g Coconut Dulce de Leche
Instructions
Small Angel Food Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and sift together ¼ cup granulated sugar, flour, and cornstarch.50 g Granulated Sugar, 60 g All-Purpose Flour, 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- Add the egg whites, vanilla, cream of tartar and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer. Attach the whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Very slowly, pour in the ½ cup of granulated sugar while the whisk is running. Continue whisking on high speed until you’ve reached soft, delicate glossy peaks.1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 7 Fresh Egg Whites, 1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar, ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt, 100 g Granulated Sugar
- Gently fold in ½ of the dry ingredients, attempting not to deflate the egg white mixture too much, while also taking time to properly mix the dry ingredients into the wets. Add the remaining half of the ingredients and continue folding until you do not see any more flour bits - make sure to check the base of your bowl!
- Add your angel food cake batter into your pan - make sure that you do not grease it! Greasing the tin makes it so the cake batter can’t grip onto the sides of the pan, which is imperative to it becoming a lofty tower of pillowy sweet goodness. Bake for 36- 40 minutes or until the top of your angel food cake is no longer sticky and it has lightly browned.
- As soon as you’ve removed the cake from the oven, immediately turn it upside down and invert it. If your cake pan does not have a lip that it can sit on, you can use cans to support the edges of the pan once it is inverted. Allow the cake to cool for about an hour before continuing!
- Run a knife gently around the edge of the pan and gently remove the cake from the pan using leverage from the disconnected base of the pan.
Coconut Dulce de Leche
- Place all ingredients into a saucepan, whisking to combine and heat on medium until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.1 13.5 oz can Coconut Milk , 150 g Brown Sugar, Pinch of Salt
- Once the mixture has been reduced to ¾ cup, you know that the dulce de leche is complete - this should take 25-30 minutes at medium high heat. Pour into a small container and allow to cool before using in the recipe, then store leftovers in the fridge.
Coconut Dulce de Leche Buttercream
- Add your sugar and egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer and place over a saucepan of boiling water. Make sure that your bowl is not touching the hot water! Your goal is to simply whisk the egg whites and sugar together over a gentle heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, then attach your bowl back to the standing mixer. The temperature of your egg whites and sugar should reach 170°F75 g Egg Whites, 150 g Granulated Sugar
- Whisk the mixture starting at a low speed and gradually increase until soft peaks form and the mixture has cooled. Switch to using your paddle attachment, then start adding your butter bit by bit.225 g Unsalted Butter
- When you’ve reached the point where the buttercream is glossy and smooth, turn the mixer speed back to low.
- Add coconut dulche de leche, and mix on low until combined to complete.100 g Coconut Dulce de Leche
Assembly
- Use a serrated knife, gently slice the angel food cake in half and pipe coconut buttercream onto the bottom half. Add fruit and top with the second half of angel food cake. Pipe on another layer of buttercream, garnish with fruit and a bit of demerara sugar before enjoying!Strawberries, Mandarins, Raspberries, Demerara Sugar
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
- Use egg whites from real eggs (not a carton) to make the angel food cake. Unfortunately, the way carton egg whites are processed makes it impossible to whip into meringues.
- Separate the eggs while they’re still cold (the yolks are less likely to break), but let them come to room temperature before whipping. Warmer egg whites have a thinner viscosity, which allows them to whip much faster!
- Use a 3-bowl system to separate your eggs. One is for catching the white, one is for your leftover yolks, and one is for dumping the untainted whites into. If you get even the smallest bit of yolk in your egg whites, they’ll have too much fat to whip into the firm peaks we need. Accidents are bound to happen, but don’t ruin your entire batch! Dump each successfully separated egg white into your mixing bowl after you separate it. Then, if a yolk breaks, you can just set that egg to the side without having to start from scratch!
- Use very clean kitchen equipment to whip the whites. I go the extra mile and wipe my whisk and bowl down with a bit of lemon juice if I’m unsure about the possibility of any leftover oil lingering about.
- Use a thermometer to make the frosting. Make sure the egg whites for your Swiss meringue buttercream hit 170F. Invert your angel food cake for a full hour to yield the lightest, dreamiest texture possible.
Nutrition
Calories: 398kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 136mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 703IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg
