Low Carb Keto Angel Food Cake Recipe | Wholesome Yum (2024)

Keto angel food cake can be a little intimidating at first. Even though there are only 6 ingredients (plus one optional one and salt), it can be a a little finicky and has a specific process to follow. Don’t give up on it, though… I promise that this low carb angel food cake recipe is worth the effort!

And, it’s not actually that time consuming for a cake – you just need the right technique. In this post, I’m sharing all the tips to ensure that your almond flour angel food cake turns out perfect each and every time.

This sugar-free, gluten-free angel food cake is great on its own, but it’s also delicious with some keto whipped cream or berries.

Bonus: each slice has just 84 calories and 2g net carbs. And you’d never know it. 😉

What Is Angel Food Cake?

Angel food cake is a light and airy vanilla sponge cake. Traditionally, it’s made with egg whites, flour, and sugar, and most notably, no butter or fat added.

To make a keto friendly angel food cake, we’re making this recipe an angel food cake made with super fine blanched almond flour, coconut flour, and powdered monk fruit sweetener.

How To Make Angel Food Cake (Keto Friendly)

This keto angel food cake recipe isn’t hard to make, but it does have a few precise steps to follow. Look at the step-by-step pictures, but also check my tips below this section, to ensure you get perfect angel food cake every time!

• Prep your pan. Line the bottom of a 9.5-inch tube pan with parchment paper, but don’t grease it! Make sure your pan and all utensils have no grease as well.

How to cut parchment paper for lining the pan: Flip your pan over and cut a circle along the edge. Then, fold the circle in half and cut a small semi-circle in the center, matching the size of the center column. Unfold, flip the pan over, and place your parchment paper inside.

• Whip egg whites until frothy. In a large, deep bowl, use a hand mixer with whisk attachment to whip egg whites and cream of tartar together, just until frothy.

• Add Besti and beat to soft peaks. Once the egg whites are frothy, increase the speed to medium high and gradually add powdered Besti. Beat until soft peaks form (not stiff peaks!). Soft peaks will create the most lift and rising in the oven.

TIP #1: Be sure to use a large bowl, because the whites will triple in volume (or more). They are done when you see soft trails like this:

TIP #2: Soft peaks look like the picture below. They have some structure, but curve over when held vertically. Be careful not to overmix!

• Mix keto angel cake dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, sea salt, and more powdered Besti. Make sure there are no lumps.

• Sift and fold in dry ingredients. Sift half of the flour mixture over the egg whites through a fine mesh sieve…

… And fold in using a rubber spatula. Do this in batches and fold very gently, until just incorporated.

TIP: Be careful not to deflate the whites. When you add the flour mixture, sift it in gradually, a little at a time, and gently fold. Don’t stir or dump the ingredients on top, which would cause the whites to deflate.

• Transfer to tube pan. Gently scoop the almond flour angel food cake batter into the pan, again being careful not to break down the whites. Smooth the top with a spatula.

• Bake. Your low carb angel food cake is done when the top is golden and springs back when touched lightly. Be sure to cool it correctly when done – see instructions below.

TIP: Do NOT use the toothpick test! Sometimes, it slides through the batter and comes out clean even if the cake is not done. Visually, the angel food cake will look like the picture below when done.

How to Cool Almond Flour Angel Food Cake

There is a special method to cooling almond flour angel food cake, and it’s important! Here are the 2 critical components:

1. Cool the low carb angel food cake upside down. For best results, it should have air flow underneath as well.
2. You must flip it immediately after removing from the oven, or it will fall within minutes.

Why do you have to cool angel food cake upside down?

While the cake is still warm, the spongy texture has not fully set. If you don’t cool it upside down, your keto angel food cake will collapse under its own weight.

How to cool angel food cake upside down:

There are 3 ways to cool your keto angel food cake upside down:

• On a bottle – This is the oldest trick. Simply place the neck of a study glass bottle into the hole in the center of the tube pan, then invert, so that the bottle stands upright and the tube pan is upside down on it, floating with air flow underneath.
• On a wire rack – Place inverted pan over wire rack to cool. The downside is that if your cake is overflowing, you might leave marks from the rack on top.
• Use a pan with feet – Special tube pans have feet that lift up the pan off the counter. This is the method I use – I love this pan with feet, pictured below.

How to release angel food cake:

Let your cake cool completely first, upside down as shown above. Once it’s completely room temperature:

1. Run a knife along the edges. Make sure to get the outer edge and especially the winner edge – this part is most prone to sticking.
2. Flip the cake over a cake stand or large platter. I like to gently support the open side with my hand in case it falls abruptly.
3. Lift the sides of the pan first, then lift the bottom of the pan. This is why a two-piece pan comes in handy!
4. Gently peel away the parchment paper. The parchment used to line the pan will be stuck to the cake, so just gently peel it off.
5. Flip cake again if desired (optional). Place another plate or platter over the top of the cake, then flip the two plates or platters together in a quick motion, so that the bottom is on top.

I’ll let you in on a secret – I forgot step 5 for my pictures in this post. Notice how the top is pretty straight, not puffed up? That’s the reason. You can see the puffed up side of the cake in the slice below – ideally, this would be the top of your cake.

Important Tips For The Best Keto Angel Food Cake

Like I mentioned, angel food cake isn’t hard, but it does require a few things to turn out properly.

Here are all my tips to ensure that your keto angel food cake turns out perfectly each and every time – some of these repeat from above, because they are so important!

1. Use a tube pan. It’s important to use a tube pan and not a bundt pan. While they seem similar, the tube pan gives the cake the structure it needs.
2. Line the bottom but don’t grease the pan. It’s important to avoid greasing any pans or utensils when making angel food cake – otherwise your angel food cake can fall. Lining the bottom of the pan helps release the cake later.
3. Use room temperature egg whites. Cold whites won’t whip very well or hold as much air. If your eggs are straight from the fridge, you can place them in warm water to bring them to room temperature before separating the whites from the yolks.
4. Use fresh egg whites from whole eggs if at all possible. Carton egg whites do work, but they won’t create quite as much air, so your cake may be a bit more dense.
5. Be careful separating egg whites. Make sure even the tiniest bit of yolk doesn’t get in with the whites, or they will not form peaks.
6. Beat egg whites to soft peaks, not more or less. See the pictures above for cues that they are done – soft trails in the whites and peaks curl over when held upright. Under-beating will result in a cake that has no lift, but over-beating can make it too dense as well. Avoid stiff peaks!
7. Sift in the flour mixture. If you just dump it in, the whites will deflate. You could use a special sifter, but a fine mesh sieve works just as well.
8. Do not stir the batter. Again, we’re trying to avoid deflating the whites. Use a folding motion from underneath instead.
9. If you use a 2-piece pan, pick it up by the edges, not the bottom. If you push on the bottom, it will separate and the batter will leak.
10. Do not check on your cake in the oven. I know it’s tempting, but resist the urge to check! You can get away with maybe checking once toward the end (and open just a crack!), but otherwise keep that door shut. Even the slightest temperature change from opening the door can cause the cake to fall.
11. Test for doneness visually and by touch, not toothpick. As mentioned above, the toothpick test can be deceiving. It’s done when it’s golden and springy to the touch.
12. Flip the cake over immediately and quickly to cool. The cake can deflate within minutes after coming out of the oven if kept right side up, so flip it upside down instantly – see the 3 options above for cooling it upside down. This is the most critical part!
13. Slice angel food cake using a serrated knife. A chef’s knife is more likely to crush it.

Low Carb Angel Food Cake FAQs

Can you have angel food cake on a keto diet?

While angel food cake is known as a light cake, it’s still typically made with white sugar and flour. This easy low carb angel food cake is made with Besti,almond flour, and coconut flour, so it’s perfect for low carb and keto lifestyles.

Is low carb angel food cake dairy free?

Yes, this cake is naturally dairy-free.

How many carbohydrates in angel food cake?

Each slice of almond flour angel food cake has just 2 grams net carbs!

Why did my angel food cake fall?

Angel food cake can fall for several reasons. Specifically, it may be due to deflating egg whites when making the batter, over- or under-baking the cake, not flipping it over quickly enough after baking, or not cooling upside down at all.

Check my tips above to ensure that your keto angel food cake won’t fall!

Why is my angel food cake dense?

This can happen if your egg whites were not the right consistency of soft peaks. See the pictures above for how they should look. If they are too watery or too stiff, your cake can be dense.

Another reason it might be dense is if you don’t sift the flour mixture or deflate the whites when folding it in.

Can I omit the almond flour or the coconut flour?

No, I don’t recommend it. The proportions of the ingredients in this recipe are pretty precise, and does not yield well to substitutions. I did try a couple versions with only almond and only coconut flour, and both had texture issues.

If you want an almond flour cake, try almond flour pound cake or French almond cake. Find more almond flour recipes here.

If you want a coconut flour treat, try coconut flour sugar cookies or coconut flour muffins. Find more coconut flour recipes here.

Can I use a different sweetener?

Possibly. I used powdered monk fruit allulose blend, but crystallized monk fruit allulose blend should work okay as well.

I don’t recommend other granulated sweeteners, because they don’t dissolve as well and keto angel food cake is so light that you might end up with a gritty texture.

If you must use a different sweetener, use my sweetener conversion chart to measure the right amount.

Storage Instructions

Can you make it ahead?

Yes, you can make this low carb angel food cake recipe ahead as it will need time to cool properly.

How to store angel food cake

Store this almond flour angel food cake in an airtight container for 2-3 days in the pantry. It will last up to a week in he fridge, but may collect extra moisture.

Can you freeze gluten free sugar free angel food cake?

Yes, you can freeze angel food cake. I prefer to slice the cake, then wrap slices individually in plastic wrap. When you’re ready for a slice, take it out and let it thaw.

More Keto Cake Recipes

If you like this sugarless angel food cake recipe, you might also like some of my other cakes:

• Keto Pound Cake – Just 10 minutes to prep this classic cake. It’s moist, rich, and buttery!
• Coconut Flour Cake – Rich and moist, using just coconut flour.
• Keto Red Velvet – Hard to believe this is naturally colored and has just 3.4 grams net carbs per slice.
• Keto Chocolate Cake – This is the BEST chocolate cake recipe! Try it out to see for yourself.
• Sugar-Free Carrot Cake – Hard to tell that this is gluten and sugar-free. Perfect for a crowd so everyone can enjoy.
• Keto Birthday Cake – This classic vanilla cake can be customized with your favorite frosting and/or toppings. It’s always a hit.

• Angel Food Cake Pan With Feet – This takes all the fuss out of cooling angel food cake upside down! The little feet make it super easy.
• Egg Separator – Don’t let any eggs go to waste! This one is less than $6.
• Hand Mixer – The most versatile mixer, I use it a several times every week. And, it comes with an attachment for whipping egg whites.
• Fine Mesh Sieve – This set of three has all the different sized strainers you’ll need for sifting.