Before I was tall enough to see over and into the ice cream case at the drug store my very favorite flavor was strawberry ice cream.
I remember the ritual very well because going out for ice cream was so rare and such a treasure my eyes widen now just thinking about it.
A scooper girl, teen-aged and likely grumpy, would wrap a small piece of tissue paper around a flat-bottomed, kinda cardboard-y cone. She’d bend forward into the case with an ice cream scoop and emerge with a gorgeously haphazard ball of pale pink, strawberry studded, frozen cream that she’d precariously shape onto the cone. The treasure would be passed first to my mother, who your take a giant bite out of the cone before handing it down to me. Let’s not even talk about how frustrating it is to watch your precious ice cream being BITTEN INTO… that’s just childhood, you don’t make the rules but you do occasionally get ice cream. I’d hold onto the cone carefully but mostly desperately, willing myself not to lick the ice cream off its perch.
These fluffy strawberry and cream cakes remind me of the days when I was much younger, shorter, and didn’t have to buy my own ice cream. Those are precious days, indeed.
Oh. Quick note… once I got taller and could see inside the ice cream case for myself… my favorite flavor was that neon blue bubble gum ice cream. BUBBLE GUM in ice cream. Two treats in one! Such a loophole. Also disgusting.
Full disclosure: this is my favorite cake on the planet and it takes a little bit of doing.
By “a little bit of doing” I mean that we have to beat egg whites until they’re mostly-exactly right and add sugar until the mixture is pure white and glossy. This spongy soft cake is the magic of egg whites and sugar, finagled into tiny little cakes.
I used an electric hand-beater for this recipe, so don’t fret if you don’t have a stand mixer.
Egg whites are sugar are beaten to soft peaks. That means that the egg whites hold the shape of the beater. The whites won’t necessarily stand straight up on the beater, like they do in the hard peak stage… but the glossy whites will hold the shape of the beater blades in the bowl.
Baking science. Got it?
Gluten-free flour, cornstarch, and sugar are folded into the fluffy egg whites in batches. No lumps, please!
Spooned into the cupcakes liners, 3/4 full.
At this point you might wonder if the cupcakes will rise with just egg whites and no leavening. They will! Eggs are a powerful force.
One note: as the cupcakes bake, the cupcake liners will shrink in and take the shape of the cupcakes. Once cooled, just peel the paper away and you’ll have pretty little cakes!
While the cupcakes bake, strawberries are sliced and unsweetened coconut is toasted to golden brown.
Whipped cream too! Made from coconut cream, not cow’s cream! So sneaky good!
Shutterbean has an excellent coconut cream tutorial.
Cooled and fluffy golden cakes ready for topping!
These bite-sized cakes are topped generously with lightly sweetened coconut cream, toasted coconut and sliced strawberries. The bites are divine!
I used King Arthur’s Gluten-Free flour blend for this 24 cupcake recipe. It’s great! To make an entire Angel Food Cake, double the recipe and use a tube pan. For a not so gluten-free version of this cake, see here.
PrintGluten-Free Dairy-Free Angel Food Cupcakes with strawberries
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons gluten-free multi-purpose flour (I used King Arthur Flour Blend)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 6 large egg whites
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons superfine sugar (yes, more sugar)
For the Coconut Cream
- 1 14-ounce can coconut cream (from Trader Joe’s) or full fat coconut milk, chilled in the refrigerator overnight
- 2–3 tablespoons superfine sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Strawberries
- 1 pint strawberries, sliced
- 1 tablespoons superfine sugar
- 1/2 cup toasted coconut, for topping
Instructions
- Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two cupcakes pans with paper liners and set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together and then sift the flour, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside.
- In a large, clean (grease-free) mixing bowl, beat together on medium speed the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until foamy, about 4 minutes.
- Add the vanilla extract. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer and continue beating until the egg whites have increased in volume, and thickened but are still bubbly.
- Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons sugar, a bit at a time, until the meringue holds soft peaks. This means that the egg white mixture will begin to hold the lines of the beater.
- Stop the mixer and use a spatula to gently fold in the sifted flour/sugar blend a few tablespoons at a time, just until incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcakes pans until about 3/4 full. Tap the pan on the counter to remove any big air bubbles.
- Bake until the cupcakes are a deep golden brown, and the top springs back when pressed lightly, about 18 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely.
- While the cupcakes cool, make the coconut whipped cream. In a large bowl beat together coconut cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until it holds soft peaks. If you’re using coconut milk, first scrape off all of the coconut cream from the top of the can and discard the coconut water. Beat the cream with the sugar and vanilla. Soft peaks will appear after about 5 minutes.
- To make the strawberries, toss together sliced strawberries ands sugar. Allow to rest for 15 minutes to develop some juices.
- To assemble the cupcakes, generously top each cooled cupcakes with coconut whipped cream. Top with strawberries and toasted coconut. Enjoy!
- Cupcakes will last, unfrosted, well-wrapped, at room temperature for 3 days. Assemble just before serving for best results.
Sashiko
Dear Joy, i love you. I stopped visiting your site years ago, after i quit gluten and dairy. Something told me to check back in, and i found some recipes i could eat! I’ll have to make these for a potluck soon. <3
Shar
hello Joy, in the gluten free angel food cupcakes recipe there is a typo error: Egg whites ARE sugar are beaten to soft peaks. That means that the egg whites hold the shape of the beater. The whites won’t
Mindy
Made them last night for my 2 year old’s birthday party… she had 3 of them! The cupcakes do puff up quite a bit, but shrink down when cooling a lot to look like very meager-sized cupcakes. But add the whipped cream and strawberries… and they looked bite-sized but beautiful! Everyone preferred these cupcakes rather than the regular birthday cake with frosting. They were gone so quickly. ALSO – you won’t miss regular cake when eating these – they taste just like regular angel food cake. I thought about NOT using the cupcake liners, but I would NOT recommend that since they shrink down so much, they would stick badly to the sides and look sunken. (Instead I would just make it in a tube pan like Joy suggests.)
Sarah
Your recipes are now my favorite!!!!!
http://Www.feroshchick.com
Xo-sarah
thepathtoyourdoor
Nice to know I’m not the only one that is so easily swayed by neon blue treats, Bubble gum ice cream was my favorite for a long time. I will still see that color and think, “yes please!”, even though I know better, sort of.
shartran
So cute – I might try with blueberries..I must be the only person on earth who doesn’t really care for strawberries….
alenawoo
These look like such a treat! I particularly love the coconut cream topping, coconut anything is divine =)
Alison
This recipe came to my rescue just in time! I’m a fellow blogger and am developing a recipe using a new non-dairy product on the market (Nutpods) and have egg whites galore in my fridge! They’re officially all used up and yes, in case you were wondering, angel food cake does taste quite good with vanilla ice cream!
Sophia
This looks very, very delicious :)) I will definitely try it! xo Sophia
Elle Bloggs (@ElleBloggs)
These look so beautiful Joy and I imagine that they taste great too! I love your intro to the post, I remember when I was younger we had a ‘Baskin & Robbins’ not far from where I lived and it was a real treat going down there. I still love their Rum & raisin ice cream!
http://www.ellebloggs.com
aspoonfulofnature
your photography is always on point!!!! love it
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
Trang Do
OMG!!!! LOOK YUMMMYYYY! I WISH I WERE THERE TO TASTE IT!
Hugs,
Love from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}
Joshua Hampton
Wow. These cupcakes don’t look dairy-free or gluten-free at all. They look wonderful.
anna@icyvioletskitchen
i am going to try whipping coconut cream this weekend! mmm these look delicious. such a good use for it.
Jenna
These look delicious! Love angel food cake, so light for summer! Do you think I can sub all purpose flour for gluten free? Thanks!
Tamanique
So pretty! I’ve always shied away from making angel food cake, who knows why, but I’ve been craving strawberry shortcake all summer so I’l have to take a stab at it for these. Thank you for your blog, Joy!
Lisa
I love having gluten free and dairy free options although I really only like angel food if it’s liberally covered in icing. That being said I have some gorgeous farmers market strawberries to use. So yum.
shelly
…youre baking gluten free? should I be concerned?
Denise in Austin
Angel food cake is my favorite – can’t wait to try this! Yum!!! Hope you and Jonathan are having fun in NOLA {wink}
Linda | A La Place Clichy
This looks wonderful! Though I still love my gluten and dairy, I always have trouble making things for my friends and family who have all gone spontaneously gluten and dairy free!
Abby Barstow
These look seriously amazing! These ingredients are going on my shopping list!! Do you think they would freeze okay?
Somebody from Somewhere
These look amazingly delicious!
http://somebodyfromsomewhere.blogspot.com/
Misty
these look amazing! I love the idea of toasted coconut in these. Do you think I could add some to the batter? would I need to reduce the flour if so?
Thanks :)
Hannah
This sounds absolutely heavenly!
http://www.homeschooledhoosier.blogspot.com
Silvia
Yum. Just, JUM.
(You think you might wanna hop on a flight to Ghent and make them for me, like, tonight? It’s an awesome city, cross on the heart.)
Marietta
These look so yummy! I’m going to try a batch this morning. Do you think I could just grease the cupcake tin instead of using liners?
racheltyso
These look delightful! And great to see a dairy free recipe!
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