About an hour before starting the cake, separate your egg whites from yolks. Cover the yolks with water and refrigerate for a later use. In measuring cup or small bowl let the egg whites warm to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 375° and set rack to middle shelf.
Sift flour and powdered sugar together and set aside.
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand or hand mixer until foamy and cream of tartar has distributed evenly throughout whites.
Beat in sugar 2 tablespoons at a time, on high speed, until stiff and glossy. Add the extracts and salt with the last addition of sugar.
Remove bowl from stand mixer and sprinkle flour-sugar mixture, ¼ cup at a time, over the meringue, folding it just until the flour-sugar mixture disappears.
Push batter into an ungreased tube pan, 10x4 inches. Cut gently through batter with a metal spatula or gently tap on counter to settle batter.
Bake until cracks feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly, 30 to 40 minutes. I removed mine when a tester inserted into one of the cracks came out with only a few clinging crumbs.
Invert pan on bottle and cool completely.
To remove cake from pan, gently insert a flat offset spatula against the sides and carefully cut all the way around. You can use a small thin knife or a cake tester to cut around the middle tube. Gently flip cake over on a cooling rack, remove the pan and place the cake right side up with your hands. It should feel as light as air!
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Notes
Yield – 10 inch tube panStorage – Wrap cooled angel food cake in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. The sugar keeps it fresh. I do not recommend storing angel food cake in the refrigerator because the sugar will absorb the moisture from the air and it will become soft and gummy.If you must make angel food cake ahead of time, I recommend freezing it then unwrap to thaw at room temperature. It will keep for 3 months frozen.