angel food cake cupcakes with strawberries & cream

i'm loving the spring season at the moment. i can't complain about it, especially not here in san francisco. the last few weeks we've been so fortunate with mother nature giving us gorgeous sunshine and almost no-jacket/sweater weather. seriously, today was about 80 degrees in the city! i went out for my daily lunch walks earlier today not needing to bring a coat. you don't get this too often here in the city. but lately, it's been fabulous. i can't complain. i just hope this weather trend stays like this for several more days, weeks even! too bad it doesn't usually last very long. but in the mean time, i'll take it.

alright, so with spring comes all the amazing spring fruits such as strawberries. over the last few weeks i've been eating strawberries nonstop. i couldn't help it. it's everywhere in the grocery stores, farmer's market… wherever. so what better way to use up some of the strawberries than your classic angel food cake for a little of that delicious berries and cream combo?! oh boy, this strawberry angel food cake dessert is to die for. it is so perfect; nice and light with that fresh taste of strawberries and the sweetened freshly whipped cream. mmmm… delish!

so there's a backstory to this angel food cake dessert. you see i've never ever attempted to make angel food cake before. yes, like ever! a year or so back when i asked for requests from my coworkers as to what kind of baked goods to bring them, one of them asked if i could make an angel food cake. i told him, no way, not in a million years. i would have to like him a whole lot, like a lot LOT or somehow be bored out of my mind to make one. i'll make anything else but angel food cake. so yes, for some odd reason, i've just never cared or be bothered to make angel food cake. i guess you could say, and i will admit this here that i was a bit intimidated by all those egg whites! yes, there are so many egg whites you have to whip up just to make one angel food cake. even in this first attempt, i didn't even make the full recipe. actually, i didn't even use your typical angel food cake pan mold. i made mine as cupcakes instead. even mini ones! but yes, i was intimidated by the egg whites. looking at the recipe i'm thinking, "what?! i have to whip all those egg whites? what am i going to do with all the yolks. there are so many egg yolks!" -- hahaha, silly i know. but these days, i have ways to use up those egg yolks. yeah, i still have those yolks sitting in the fridge. they'll probably either (a) end up in the garbage, (b) turned into some delicious pastry cream for cream puffs or whatever, or (c) it's about time i make some lemon curd with all those lemons in our backyard (yes, we have an itty bitty meyer lemon tree out back that actually has some lemon on it! i know, it's pretty incredible considering how tiny it is and the fact that there's hardly ever any fruits in all the years we've had it!)

mmm… so there you have it. i'm not sure what happened, but i guess i did sort of make some form of angel food cake. yes, not the real thing, but close enough. you can say it was because of all the fresh strawberries and sunshine that inspired me to finally attempt to make this cake. will i make it again and am i intimidated by all those egg whites now that i've done it once? nah, no way. blah. easy peasy. i can do it in my sleep! hehe jk i'll probably make this cake batter again, and yes, one day in the proper form and all. the cake is lovely and turned out fantastic. yeah, it's the diet dessert -- actually, not! no dessert is a diet dessert. but i have to say, it is seriously super light (at least it tastes like it, minus the sugar?! haha) and delicious.

below's the recipe i used to make the cupcake form of angel food cake. feel free to make some and let me know what you think. so, what do you say? pretty good eh?! i'm in love with these and they taste absolutely amazing -- fresh and sweet just like the perfect spring weather we are enjoying right now! enjoy and happy baking! :)


the weather here in san francisco has really been that awesome. for sure beach-worthy.


an instagram photo of this yummy treat a lucky few received one day at work last week.


i am in love with this angel food cake cupcake. it is such a refreshing spring treat with the fresh strawberries!

angel food cake cupcakes with strawberries & cream
recipe adapted from the baker upstairs

ingredients:

cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 6 egg whites
• 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

strawberries & cream filling:

• 12 strawberries, washed (you can use more or less strawberries depending on your preference, i used a strawberry per cupcake)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

directions:

1. preheat your oven to 350° F and prepare a cupcake pan (12-count) with paper liners.
2. in a small bowl, combine the flour and sugars, set aside.
3. in the bowl of your stand mixer whip the egg whites for one minute, until frothy. add the cream of tartar, vanilla and salt, and whip for 5-6 minutes until stiff peaks form.
4. then sprinkle 1/4 cup of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold in gently, repeating until all the flour is incorporated.
5. spoon the batter into the paper liners and bake for 15-17 minutes, until lightly golden and springy to the touch.
6. remove from the oven and cool completely in the pans.
7. while cupcakes are cooling, make the whipped cream and slice the berries.
8. for the whipped cream: add the heavy whipping cream and sugar to a medium size bowl and whip for 3-4 minutes, until light and airy. refrigerate the whipped cream in the refrigerator while you slice the berries.
9. to assemble the cupcakes: take the paper liners off the cupcakes very carefully. slice the cake in half and top the bottom half with a very good spoonful of whipped cream. then add the slices of fresh strawberries before topping it off with another spoonful of whipped cream. put the top half of the cake back on to finish. if the cupcake looks like it's falling apart you can use a toothpick to hold it in place. of course, remove the toothpick before consuming. serve immediately or keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

makes 12 cupcakes. enjoy and happy eating! :)