Cake has had a history dating back to the ancient civilizations and there are thousands of cake recipes around the world. What makes chiffon cake special? Well, that's because it's advertised as the first new cake in 100 years!
Early Beginnings
Chiffon cake has two origin stories, the first as a descendant from chiffon pie which is lesser known, and the second as the invention by an American salesman in the 1940s. Let's first look at chiffon pie, a dessert somewhat lost in history.
A survey of historic recipes suggests that chiffon pie first appeared in the United States in the 1920s, although precursors can be found under different names. The person credited for "inventing" chiffon pie is Monroe Boston Strause, also known as "the pie king". He wanted fruit-fragrant chiffon to be the star of pies and different than the old kinds of cream pies.
Rather than using cornstarch, often used to thicken cream pies, Strause played around with different pie fillings to create something lighter. He started with a recipe for French cream in eclairs, where boiled sugar syrup was added to beaten egg whites. He experimented by beating egg whites with fruit-flavored syrup until the mixture was light and fluffy. He then showed his creation to his mother who said, "Why, it looks just like a pile of chiffon." Thus, the name was given to this new type of fluffy cream pie. However, piecrust seemed too thick for such a delicate filling, so Strause's mother suggested using a light, crisp graham cracker crust shell. These chiffon pies became immensely popular and Strause had the largest pie business in the West.
Following the popularity of chiffon pie, it was assumed that chiffon cake arose using a similar baking method of beating egg whites for the fluffy texture. However, the second origin story is much more well-known. Harry Baker, an insurance agent in Los Angeles, is said to have "invented" this cake in 1927 when he used salad oil instead of butter in his angel food cake recipe. As word spread of this wonderful light cake, he was continually asked for the recipe. However, he carefully kept his recipe secret for two decades and made this special cake only for the most elite stars of Hollywood. The secret to his light chiffon cake was that the egg whites were beaten separately from the yolks - just like in chiffon pie - and no butter or conventional shortening was needed, only vegetable oil.
Eventually in the late 1940s, Baker sold his top-secret formula to Betty Crocker's parent company, General Mills. The corporate version of this recipe using General Mill's flour and salad oil products was released in 1948 in the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine and it and spread everywhere across the nation. This magazine advertised the cake as "the first really new cake in 100 years." In the 1950s, General Mills sponsored chiffon cake contests, and many cake flavor variations were created. Some believe that his recipe was inspired by popular salad oil cakes around the time period. Nonetheless, his chiffon cake recipe was revolutionary.
Modern Twists
Chiffon cake was aggressively promoted from the late 1940s to early 1960s. It soon became famous for its airy texture like a light angel food, but also with a moist tenderness like a rich butter cake. This cake is still commonly seen today, as it is simple to make and light in taste, making it perfect for a variety of other flavors and accents. One example is a classic chocolate chiffon cake. Simply replace a little of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder and voila! Some recipes call for a sprinkle of cacao nibs or a drizzle of rich chocolate glaze.
Another example is the fragrant pandan coconut chiffon cake. Pandan is a popular flavor in Southeast Asian cuisine, with an earthy nuttiness that is a natural complement to coconut, like in Thai coconut sticky rice.
The flavor is also popular in sponge cakes, which are often colored a pistachio green either naturally from extract or juice, or artificially with food coloring. The cake is often frosted with a drizzle of coconut glaze, made of coconut milk and a little powdered sugar, and some toasted coconut.
In general because of the cake's light structure, it works best lightly garnished without a heavy frosting. Instead, chiffon cake will generally be eaten with only a light dusting of powdered sugar, a little sweetened cocoa powder, or a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries.
Fun Fact: In the United States, March 29 is National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day.
Chiffon cake is a revolutionary cake out of the thousands of other recipes due to its combined texture of a light and airy sponge cake with the rich flavors of a butter cake. The varieties are endless as it pairs well with so many flavors. As American might have thought back when they first tried it in the 1940s, you might also exclaim, "it's like eating a cloud!" when trying it for the first time.
Link to my chiffon cake recipe.
Link to my post on the chemistry & science behind chiffon cake.
Want to Learn More? (always cite your sources, kids)
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