This Strawberry Angel Food Cake is light and fluffy with serious strawberry flavor thanks to freeze-dried berries! Also delicious using blueberries, with the bonus of a showstopping purple color!
Preheat oven to 350° F. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the sugar and freeze-dried strawberries (see note) until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
Sift flour and ½ cup strawberry sugar into a medium bowl. Set aside.
Combine egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in a mixer bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat mixture on medium-high until firm peaks form.
Reduce mixer to medium and gradually add remaining strawberry sugar. Beat on high speed until thick and shiny.
Add vanilla extract. Beat on high speed one more minute.
Sift ¼ of flour mixture into mixer bowl and carefully fold in, being cautious not to deflate the egg white mixture. Once fully combined, repeat with the remaining flour mixture in three more additions. Ensure that the mixture is completely combined, with no unmixed dry ingredients.
Pour batter into an *ungreased* 10-inch tube pan, preferably an angel food cake pan with small feet (see notes). Smooth top of the batter.
Bake 30-35 minutes, or until top of cake springs back when touched. Invert pan on counter or cooling rack (see note), and allow to cool completely. Run a thin knife around the cake to remove it from the pan.
Notes
Note on freeze-dried strawberries: Make sure to use *freeze-dried* strawberries, as they are free of moisture and will process into a powder along with the sugar. If you can't find them at your local grocery store, they are available [here].Note on cake flour: Cake flour is a must for this recipe! The texture of the cake won't be right (or could collapse completely) if you use another type of flour. If you can't find it at your local store, you can find some [here].Note on vanilla bean paste: It's no secret that I love vanilla bean paste. It's soooo tasty without the vanilla bean price tag (and it pretty much stays good forever). If you prefer to substitute, you could use 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. If you'd like to get some vanilla bean paste and you can't find it in your local grocery store (I never can), you can find some [here].Note on pan prep: There is no need to grease the pan. Greasing the pan for an angel food cake will make it more difficult for the cake to rise in the pan, and your cake will likely collapse!
Note on angel food cake pan: Angel food cakes are so light, they must be cooled upside down to prevent collapse after baking. Angel food cake pans have small feet on them that allow you to invert the pan (see [here]). If you do not have an angel food cake pan, invert the cake pan on a wire rack to cool.