Chocolate Angel Food Cake
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
This follows the classic angel food method, with 30g of the flour swapped for cocoa and a coffee-cocoa paste folded into the meringue for a deeper chocolate flavour.
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Method
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Equipment
- 25 cm two-piece tube (angel food) tin, ungreased and unlined
- fine sieve
- stand mixer or electric hand whisk
- large spatula
- wire rack or glass bottle for cooling upside down
- serrated knife
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 160 kcal |
| Protein | 5.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 35.3 g |
| of which sugars | 26.4 g |
| of which free sugars | 25 g |
| Fat | 0.7 g |
| of which saturates | 0.3 g |
| Fibre | 1.7 g |
| Salt | 0.26 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.2 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 12 servings
Dry mix
- 90 g cake flour (or plain flour; see note) plain flour works with a slightly firmer crumb
- 30 g cocoa powder (Dutch-processed)
- 150 g caster sugar
Cocoa paste
- 15 g cocoa powder (Dutch-processed), for blooming
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 60 ml boiling water
Meringue
- 12 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1½ tsp cream of tartar
- 1.5 g fine sea salt or table salt about ¼ tsp
- 150 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
To serve
- 250 g strawberries, to serve
- 1
Make the cocoa paste. Whisk the 15g of cocoa and the instant coffee into the boiling water until completely smooth, then set aside to cool. Blooming the cocoa in hot water brings out its flavour and softens its bitterness, while the coffee quietly deepens the chocolate taste rather than making the cake taste of coffee.
- 2
Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 175°C (155°C fan) for at least 20 minutes before baking, with a shelf in the lower-middle position, and leave the tube tin completely ungreased. As with the classic version, the bare metal gives the rising batter something to grip as it climbs the sides.
- 3
Sift the dry mix. Sift the flour, 30g of cocoa and 150g of the sugar together three times, tipping the mixture back through the sieve each time. Cocoa clumps just as readily as flour, so this keeps the whole mix fine enough to fold in without weighing the whipped whites down.
- 4
Whip the egg whites. In a completely clean, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until foamy, then add the cream of tartar and salt and continue to soft peaks. Any fat left on the bowl or whisk stops whites whipping properly, so spotless equipment is essential here. The whites should hold a soft peak that just folds over.
- 5
Build a glossy meringue. Add the remaining 150g of sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking well between additions, until glossy and medium-firm, with peaks that bend gently at the tip; whisk in the vanilla in the final seconds. Stop as soon as the peaks bend rather than stand stiff, since overwhipped whites turn dry and make the baked cake shrink.
- 6
Fold in the cocoa paste. Whisk a large spoonful of the meringue into the cooled cocoa paste to loosen it, then fold this mixture back into the rest of the meringue. Loosening the dense paste first means it blends in with far fewer strokes, so less air is knocked out of the foam.
- 7
Fold in the flour. Sift a quarter of the flour and cocoa mix over the meringue and fold it in with a large spatula using a few broad strokes, then repeat in three more additions until no streaks of flour remain. Folding gently here protects the trapped air that is the only thing giving this cake its lift.
- 8
Fill the tin. Spoon the batter into the ungreased tin, run a knife through it in a slow spiral to remove large air pockets, and smooth the top so it bakes evenly.
- 9
Bake until risen. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is risen and cracked, springs back when pressed, and a skewer comes out dry. Cocoa darkens the surface, so judge doneness by the spring and the skewer test rather than colour alone.
- 10
Cool upside down. Turn the tin upside down onto a wire rack, or rest the tube over a bottle neck, immediately after baking and leave to cool completely, about 2 hours. Cooling it right side up would let the foam collapse under its own weight before it has fully set.
- 11
Release and slice. Run a thin knife around the sides and central tube, push the cake out and slide it off the base. Slice with a serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion so you don't crush the crumb, then serve with the strawberries.
Storage
Keep loosely covered at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 4 days, as the crumb dries out quickly once cut. It also freezes well, wrapped tightly, for up to 2 months — thaw at room temperature before serving with fresh strawberries.
