A light and fluffy cake recipe that has all the taste for fewer calories! Unlike other types of sponge cakes with chemical/artificial leaveners such as baking soda and baking powder, chiffon cakes rise almost entirely due to the beaten egg whites. Although chiffon cake can seem a bit daunting to make, I promise the end results are worth it!
To make 1 8-inch (20-cm) cake:
Ingredients
5 eggs
75 g vegetable/canola oil (odorless, don't use olive oil!)
100 g cake flour
75 g milk
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (alternatives: 1 tsp white vinegar or 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice)
75 g sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Pre-baking Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. An 8-inch aluminum chiffon cake pan with a removable base is the best for this recipe. Do not grease the insides because the cake needs to cling on the sides and center for support when it rises in the oven.
2. Separate Eggs: Prepare 2 clean glass or stainless steel bowls without any water or grease. Separate the egg yolks into one bowl and the egg whites into the other (make sure there's no egg yolk at all in the egg white bowl!!). Put the egg whites in the larger bowl since you will need to beat them later on. It's ok if some of the egg whites get into the egg yolk bowl.
3. Egg Yolks: In a separate bowl, add the oil. Sift the flour into the oil and mix well until there are no extra flour lumps. Add the five egg yolks, vanilla extract, and milk and gently mix until they are all well-incorporated and smooth.
Left: Sifting flour into oil. Middle: Flour and oil mixture. Right: Flour and oil mixture combined with egg yolks, vanilla extract, and milk.
4. Egg Whites: In the large bowl with the egg whites, add 1/3 of the sugar and the cream of tartar. Beat on a medium speed until you see small bubbles. Add 1/3 of the sugar and beat the egg whites on a high speed. When the mixture turns more opaque, add the remaining 1/3 of the sugar. Switch to low-medium speed when waves start to form. Continue beating until stiff peaks form (make sure not to over-beat or the cake won't rise as much).
Images Left to Right. 1: Add sugar when small bubbles form. 2: Add sugar again when egg whites turn more opaque white. 3: Lower speed when waves form. 4: Beat until stiff peaks form.
5. Combine Batter: Transfer 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it up. Mix them gently (folding mixture over itself) and quickly. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites in 2 equal parts until no white streaks can be seen.
6. Baking: Pour the combined cake batter into the chiffon cake pan. Shake the pan and drop it on the table to remove any big bubbles. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. The top should be golden brown and bounce back when lightly pressed with your finger. Flip over the cake pan and allow it to cool upside down. Remove the pan and serve. Enjoy!
Left: Gently fold egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture. Middle: Combined egg white and yolk mixtures in chiffon cake pan. Right: Freshly baked chiffon cake!
Link to my chocolate ganache frosting recipe - a perfect addition to this cake!
Link to my post on the history & culture of chiffon cake.
Link to my post on the chemistry & science of chiffon cake.
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