Coconut Angel Food Cake with Berries
Light as air angel food cake scented with coconut and topped with fresh berries. It’s a perfect summer dessert!
Since angel food cake is naturally fat-free, it’s okay that I’ve eaten almost half of this cake in a single day, right?
I just couldn’t help myself. This cake turned out every bit as lovely and delicious as I’d imagined. I’ve had a growing collection of egg white in my fridge that finally needed to be dealt with and a morning free for some impromptu baking, and an angel food cake was calling my name.
To set it apart from my classic angel food cake and cupcakes, I decided to flavor this one with coconut. A topping of coconut whipped cream, flaked coconut and summer berries finished off the ensemble quite nicely, if I do say so myself.
This beauty is worthy of any summer party or barbecue and would even be perfect for a certain red, white and blue holiday coming up this weekend. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure! Though if you choose to instead hog it all to yourself like someone I know (ahem, me), I can’t say that I blame you.
baking tip:Is an angel food cake pan necessary?
It is possible to get away with using small pans to bake little angel food cakes (like cupcakes, for example), but if you’re planning on baking one big cake then yes, you will need a large tube pan.
An angel food cake tube pan is designed specifically so that the egg whites in the batter cook evenly and are allowed to rise high as they bake. The hole in the center in necessary, and so are tall, straight, and not non-stick sides.
Most kitchen supply stores carry angel food cake pans, but you can also shop online.
Coconut Angel Food Cake with Berries
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup cake flour (113 grams)
- 1 ⅔ cup granulated sugar (333 grams)
- 1 ¾ cup egg whites , from about 13 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract or flavoring
For serving:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (250 ml)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract or flavoring
- ½ cup sweetened flake coconut
- Fresh berries
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Sift the flour 3 times, then add ⅔ cup of the sugar and sift 1 more time.
- Beat the eggs until frothy. Add the salt and cream of tartar and beat till they just begin to form soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar 2 tablespoons at a time and beat until they hold soft peaks. Beat in the vanilla.
- Sift the flour mixture over the whipped egg whites in 4 additions, folding in each addition by hand until just incorporated.
- Spoon into an ungreased 10 x 4 inch tube pan. Rap on a hard surface a few times to release any bubbles. Bake until spongy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 ¼ hours.
- If the pan has feet, invert it onto a flat surface. Otherwise, invert over the neck of a bottle. Let cool completely, about 2 hours. Use a thin knife to cut around the edges and release the cake.
To serve the cake:
- Whip the heavy cream until it starts to thicken. While continuing to beat, add the sugar slowly, followed by the coconut extract. Beat to soft peaks.
- Serve slices of the cake with whipped cream, coconut flakes and fresh berries.
I think angel food cake is one of the prettiest cakes ever! Especially this version with the fresh coconut and berries 🙂
This looks so perfect for summer!
I adore a good angel food cake. LOVE the coconut added to it!
Holy smokes… this is GORGEOUS!!
I can’t remember the last time I had an angel food cake, and it’s been a really long time since I’ve made one – but they always remind me of summer, since my mom would always have them for us topped with berries. This has brought back so many memories already – I am most definitely making one this weekend now, and i think THIS one is it!
Thanks Megan! You’ll have to let me know what you think if you try it. 🙂
So beautiful Annalise! This is such a refreshing, light kind of cake.
I totally understand how you devoured it! 🙂
This is one of the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen and looks equally as luscious. Definitely making this one.
Looks delicious!!! Can you use a bundt pan to make this angel food cake??
I’m not sure if a bundt shape will work since I have not tried it. However, if you wanted to give it a try make sure you’re using a non non-stick pan and do not grease it. The cake needs to be able to stick and climb up the walls of the pan.