Red Velvet Angel Food Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze

With Valentine’s Day coming up, its only right to share light, airy Red Velvet Angel Food Cake smothered with the most heavenly Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze you can’t even imagine.   Because after all, cupid is an angel.  And he wants you to be happy.  This angel food cake, as in all angel food cakes has ZERO butter and is super simple to make.  Happy indeed.

Showing Red Velvet Angel Food Cake pouring glaze over top.


 

I have to confess that before trying versions of this cake, I had never made an angel food cake before.  For some reason, I thought that they were temperamental or hard to make.  I am not sure where I got this misconception because this was one of the easiest cakes I have ever made that looks deceptively fancy as in – it must have take hours – when it takes less than 20 minutes!  Definitely one of my new go-to cakes to impress company.

Red Velvet Angel Food Cake slice on a plate with mixed fruit garnish.

This Red Velvet Angel Food Cake is as easy as these 4 simple illustrated steps:

1)  Add egg whites, salt, vanilla, cream of tartar, cinnamon and food coloring to your mixing bowl.  Beat on medium high speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.

2)  Lower the speed to medium-low and gradually beat in half of the sugar.

3)  Hold a sieve over the mixing bowl to easily sift in the sugar/flour/cocoa mixture and gently fold in.

4)  Pour the batter into your ungreased tube/angel food cake pan and bake.

Showing how to make Red Velvet Angel Food Cake mixing in the bowl.

After the cake cools for a few hours, light, airy, divinely delicious Red Velvet Angel Food Cake is waiting for you – trumpeting you to drizzle it with Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze.

Red Velvet Angel Food Cake baked on on a white plate.

Don’t mind if I do…

Red Velvet Angel Food Cake on a cake stand pouring white icing over top.

This glaze almost leaves me speechless, I’m so awestruck by its otherworldly deliciousness.

Almost speechless.  Its silky, creamy, and sweet with a hint of coconut and a refreshing burst of citrus made by simply beating together cream cheese, coconut cream,  powdered sugar, vanilla and a hint of lemon juice.

Close up of Showing how to make Red Velvet Angel Food Cake with white glaze with flowers in the background.

Because of the angelic Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze, I was feeling tropical (thus my tropical arrangement in the background – did I tell you I used to design flower arrangements?), so I garnished my Red Velvet Angel Food Cake with pineapple, strawberries and toasted coconut.  It was a match made in tropical heaven.  Light, airy, chocolaty, coconut, cream cheese, pineapple heaven.  But feel free to customize your cake to create your very own heavenly match.

Showing how to make Red Velvet Angel Food Cake with white glaze with pineapple, strawberries and coconut on top.

Once you slice the cake, it is more red on the inside.  I used a total of 1 tablespoon red food coloring, so although my cake is red on the inside, it is more reddish-brown on the outside.  If you want a more intensely red cake, you can add more food coloring.

Showing how to make Red Velvet Angel Food Cake with white glaze with pineapple, strawberries and coconut on top with a slice missing..

So enough cake talk, its time to dig in to Red Velvet Angel Food Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze.  A slice of heaven on earth is waiting for you.

Red Velvet Angel Food Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze

Servings: 8 -10
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cups sifted granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups egg whites at room temperature (10-12 eggs)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1-2 tablespoons red food coloring *

Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze

  • 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1 can FULL FAT coconut milk refrigerated at least 24 hours, (I recommend Chaokoh)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup Powdered sugar

Garnishes (optional)

  • toasted coconut
  • any fresh fruit such as strawberries pineapple, blueberries etc.

Instructions

  • Line the bottom of an ungreased 9.5/10-inch 16 cup capacity nonstick angel food cake pan with parchment paper (cutting out the center circle).**
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Whisk together flour, cocoa powder and ¾ cups sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  • Add egg whites, salt, vanilla, cream of tartar, cinnamon and food coloring to the bowl of a stand or hand mixer. Beat on medium high speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.
  • Lower the speed to medium-low and gradually beat in ¾ cups sugar (NOT the flour/sugar/cocoa mix) 2 tablespoons at a time.
  • Turn off mixer and sift about ¼ of the sugar/flour/cocoa mixture over the egg whites (by holding a sieve over the mixing bowl) and gently fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula. Repeat with remaining mixture ¼ at a time until its all incorporated.
  • Pour the batter into your ungreased tube pan, run a knife through the batter, smooth top and tap the pan a couple of times on the counter to release any air bubbles.
  • Bake at 350F 45 to 55 minutes or until the cake springs back when pressed. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan onto its legs. If the pan does not have legs, invert pan over the neck of a sturdy bottle (so the air can circulate and cool the cake). Cool inverted cake for 2-3 hours. When cake is completely cooled, gently run a knife along its edges to loosen.
  • While the cake is cooling, make the Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze. Scoop the coconut cream that has separated to the top of your coconut milk can (about ½ cup) into to the bowl of your hand or stand mixer. Reserve remaining coconut milk. Add remaining Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze Ingredients and beat until smooth. Taste and add additional powdered sugar if you like it more sweet, more lemon, if you like it more tart. Store in the refrigerator while cake cools and it will thicken. When ready to serve, mix in a little reserved coconut milk if you want thinner glaze.
  • To serve, either pour Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze over Cake, reserving some glaze to pour on individual servings or pour Coconut Cream Cheese Glaze directly onto individual servings. Garnish cake with fresh fruit and toasted coconut (optional).

Notes

*I used one tablespoon. If you want a more intensely red cake, add up to one additional tablespoon food coloring.
**You need a nonstick tube pan/angel food cake pan for the angel food cake to be light and fluffy BUT I have made this recipe in a regular bundt can which you HAVE TO GREASE and grease is the enemy of angel food cake, so it will not rise and will be more dense. That being said, the “flat and dense” angel food cake was still delicious and completely worth making if you don’t want to buy a special pan for this recipe – just be sure to grease your regular bundt cake pan and don’t expect the the texture to be quite the same as your traditional angel food cake.

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7 Comments

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Marissa! And I can’t wait for you to try the glaze – I could drink that stuff!

  1. Justine@CookingandBeer says

    I’m totally with you on the misconception thing, Jen! I definitely have never made an angel food cake but I think you may have just made a believer! Making so soon! Looks amazing!

    • Jen says

      Thanks Justine! I’m excited for you to make your first angel food cake! I think you will be so pleasantly surprised how easy it is!

  2. Trina and Tina says

    Can’t stop drooling! Angel food cake is to die for and a red velvet version is a true miracle! Can’t wait to make!

    • Jen says

      I love your enthusiasm – just like me 🙂 It really is amazing, I am so excited for you to make it!! thank you!