angel food cupcakes with whipped vanilla cream

when i first started blogging, one of the first blogs i followed (+ one of the first bloggers who was a regular reader of mine) was the wonderful caroline of chocolate + carrots. caroline is fellow southerner, + excitingly, a soon-to-be mama, with her first baby due in a few weeks! when erin at texanerin baking asked me if i’d participate in a surprise virtual baby shower for caroline, i couldn’t say yes fast enough! i knew immediately what i’d make – angel food cupcakes. i’ve had these cupcakes bookmarked for months, but hadn’t yet found the right occasion to make them. i knew that their light texture + pretty appearance would be perfect for any baby shower, virtual or otherwise.

this was my first time making angel food cake, so i was a bit worried whether i’d be able to achieve the delicate texture + light, sweet flavor that i love so much. luckily, my fears were for naught – who knew that angel food cake was so easy to make? by following the easy step-by-step instructions, i wound up with a wonderful result – the cupcakes were light, airy, delicate, + just sweet enough. because angel food cake is so light, i didn’t want to overpower it with too heavy or bold of a frosting, so i opted for a simple vanilla whipped cream, which paired perfectly with the cupcakes.

i highly recommend that you check out all the other fantastic things that people made for caroline’s virtual shower. these are some amazing bloggers with some seriously awesome recipes!

drinks:
Healthy Food For Living – Carrot Cake Colada
Bran Appetit – Strawberry Mint Sparkling Lemonade

savory:
Baked Bree – Pancetta and Chive Quiche
Simply Whole Kitchen – Mini Quinoa Bites with Goat Cheese Pesto

pastries:
Food Doodles – Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Filled Whole Wheat Cream Puffs
Kevin & Amanda – Baby Cinnamon Buns

desserts:
Baked by Rachel – Mini Lemon Lime Cheesecakes
Bake Your Day- No Bake Lemon Cheesecakes with Lemon Blueberry Sauce
Eat Good 4 Life – No Bake Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes
Fearless Homemaker – Angel Food Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Cream
Itzy’s Kitchen – 10 Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies
Keep It Sweet – Peanut Butter Cake with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Icing and Chocolate Ganache
Texanerin Baking – 100% Whole Grain Chocolate Carrot Cake Cupcakes

angel food cupcakes with whipped vanilla cream

makes 36 cupcakes, adapted from how sweet eats

ingredients

12 large egg whites (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tarter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar (sift before measuring)
1 1/8 cups sifted cake flour (sift before measuring)
1/4 teaspoon salt

for the whipped vanilla cream:
1 pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

let egg whites sit at room temperature for about one hour before beginning. while eggs are resting, measure out powdered sugar + flour, then sift powdered sugar, flour + salt together. set aside. line a cupcake tin (or two) with cupcake liners.

preheat oven to 350 degrees F + place rack in the bottom third of oven.

using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until frothy. once frothy, add in cream of tarter, then beat at medium speed until soft peaks form. this took me about 5 minutes. gradually add granulated sugar with the mixer still on medium speed, continuing to beat until egg whites thicken a bit more with opaque, soft, droopy peaks. once there, beat in vanilla extract.

remove the bowl from the mixer + sprinkle 1/4 of the dry ingredients over the egg whites. fold gently with a spatula until combined completely. continue with the rest of the dry ingredients – I did this in three increments.

once batter is smooth, use a 1/4 cup measure to pour heaping scoops of batter into each liner. bake for 18-19 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. let cool completely, then frost as desired. i frosted mine with a simple fresh vanilla whipped cream, using 1 pint of whipping cream, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, + beating until thickened.

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