This Is the Angel Food Cake You Should Be Buying
Updated: May 24, 2019
Need a shortcut for your next dessert? Before you head to the store for your angel food cake mix, see which brand was ranked best by our testing crew.
For as long as I can remember, my mom would make amazing trifles with angel food cake, custard and chocolate. The dessert always looked impressive, but my mom had a secret to this deceptively elegant dessert: The cake was an angel food cake mix from a box. Now, when I want to recreate a tasty trifle of my own and don’t have a lot of time, I turn to a mix, too.
Which brand of angel food cake mix gives that just like homemade flavor and texture? Our Test Kitchen baked up five brands to help a crew of testers and myself find out:
Honorable Mention: Betty Crocker
Score: 8/10
This pantry staple brand did well in our test. Betty Crocker angel food cake was perfectly airy and light. It sprung back to the touch. The only drawback for this cake was that it didn’t have a ton of sweetness or flavor. If you plan on serving up this cake with fruit and berries, you’ll be just fine.
Runner-Up: Duncan Hines
Score: 8.5/10
Just ahead of Betty Crocker was Duncan Hines’ angel food cake mix. This angel food cake was lauded for its subtle vanilla flavor with a hint of sweetness. The cake itself had a phenomenal lift and was just downright satisfying. A few testers found this cake to be a bit too moist and sticky for angel food cake, but this cake was universally appreciated otherwise.
Best in Show: Baker’s Corner
Score: 9/10
Our favorite angel food cake mix was Baker’s Corner—an Aldi exclusive. When it comes to sweets, Aldi really does well in our tests. Just check out the results for the best peanut butter cups, chocolate frosting, chocolate chips and cake mix.
We loved this cake because it checked all our boxes. The cake was exceptionally light and fluffy like any good angel food cake should be. The cake itself was sweet and moist—a must for any cake. And, while this isn’t flavor-related, testers liked how this cake just looked a bit on the homemade side. If you were in a pinch, you could pass this off as a from-scratch cake. For us testers, that’s the hallmark of any good boxed mix.
The Takeaways
This test proved to us that a good boxed mix is a great stand-in for the real deal. Served up with strawberries and some whipped cream, they would make for a great casual dessert.
While we had our favorites, though, it’s worth pointing out that no cake mix brand scored that low in this test. So if you’re at the store and you can’t find one of our preferred brands, don’t worry. Any of the brands we tried would work well in these desserts that use angel food cake as a base.
Best Angel Food Cake
For our daughter's wedding, a friend made this lovely, angel food cake from a recipe she's used for decades. It really is one of the best angel food cake recipes I've found. Serve slices plain or dress them up with fresh fruit. —Marilyn Niemeyer, Doon, Iowa
Glazed Chocolate Angel Food Cake
A drizzling of rich chocolate glaze lends an elegant touch and will keep guests wanting more. With only 3g of fat per slice, this is one treat you'll want to see year after year! —Mary Relyea, Canastota, New York
Toffee Angel Food Cake
Chopped toffee bits and whipped cream make the sweet flavor and light, moist texture of angel food even more indulgent. For best results, refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before serving. —Collette Gaugler, Fogelsville, Pennsylvania
Orange Dream Angel Food Cake
A basic angel food cake becomes a heavenly indulgence, thanks to a hint of orange flavor swirled into every bite. The orange color makes slices of the cake look so pretty when arranged on individual dessert plates.—Lauren Osborne, Holtwood, Pennsylvania
Mocha-Hazelnut Glazed Angel Food Cake
I love this recipe because it combines three of my favorite flavors: coffee, hazelnuts and cherries. —Joan Pecsek, Chesapeake, Virginia
Lemon Curd-Filled Angel Food Cake
For a sunny angel food cake, we make a filling of mascarpone, cream cheese and lemon curd, and then drizzle the cake with a lemony sweet glaze. —Leah Rekau, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Heavenly Angel Food Cake
This light, moist cake is my favorite. It tastes heavenly and is special enough for most any occasion. —Fayrene De Koker, Vancouver, WashingtonVanilla Bean Angel Food Cake
Angel food cake is everyone’s favorite blank slate for making awesome desserts. Serve it with a simple glaze or pile on fresh fruit, chocolate sauce or nutty sprinkles. —Leah Rekau, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Chocolate-Filled Angel Food Cake
This decadent angel food cake has a secret tunnel of Amaretto-and-chocolate-flavored whipped cream and a luscious chocolate glaze. It's sure to impress. —Leah Rekau, Milwaukee, WisconsinContest-Winning Brown Sugar Angel Food Cake
Brown sugar makes this moist, tender angel food cake delicious and different. Chunks of chopped toffee give its fluffy frosting some snap. The cake’s lovely with a hot cup of coffee.Angel Food Cake
This angel food cake has a completely different texture than the ones made from a mix. My family enjoys it all year long, either plain or topped with berries and whipped cream. —Lucile H. Proctor, Panguitch, Utah
Chocolate Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Icing
This eye-appealing cake brings mild chocolate flavor and a touch of elegance to any meal. And there’s only 1 g of fat per serving! Rebecca Baird - Salt Lake City, UtahEasy Angel Food Cake
After just one taste, you'll agree this cake is heavenly! I like to make it for special occasions throughout the year.
Sherbet-Filled Angel Food Cake
Here’s a cool way to treat angel food cake: Fill it with sherbet or ice cream. We finish this cake with a tart, sweet lime glaze. —Leah Rekau, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake
My daughter can't have gluten, and my husband is diabetic, so there are a lot of special recipes at our house. This cake is always on our family gathering table. —Anne Wiebe, Gladstone, Manitoba
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