Orange Chiffon Cake

I love making chiffon cakes as the ingredients are so simple. Eggs, sugar and flour, these are the ingredients we usually have in the pantry. For the flavouring, literally work with anything you an think of-earl grey tea, chocolate, coffee, matcha, mango, and the list goes on.

Airy, bouncy and slightly sweet, orange chiffon is an elegant cake with floral fragrance fom the orange zest

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs, separate
• 170g & 90g sugar
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 100ml fresh orange juice
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 tsp orange essence
• orange colouring, optional
• 150g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

Prepare a clean and grease-free 23 cm chiffon/angel tube pan.

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C for fan oven.

In a grease-free and dry mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with electric mixer or a stand mixer with sifted cream of tartar and salt until frothy. Then slowly add in the 170g sugar. Continue to beat until a thick white meringue with soft peaks forms. To test, you should be able to turn the entire bowl upside down without the meringue falling out. set the bowl aside.

In another mixing bowl, add 6 egg yolks and remaining 90g sugar. Whisk until the eggs is pale and thickened. Add in the vegetable oil, orange juice, orange essence and orange zest. Add the orange colouring if used. Mix well.

Sift in the flour and baking powder. Fold until combined.

Fold in 1/3 of the meringue into the orange batter. Mix until well combine. Then add in ½ of the meringue in orange batter. This time you need to slowly fold in with the batter until combine. Add the remaining meringue  and fold until well combine. Do not over mix so that you don't loose the air from the meringue.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and invert immediately upside down. Leave it to cool in this position and do not un-mould cake until completely cold.

To remove, scrape all round the sides with a thin knife and let the cake slip out gently of the pan. Loosen the centre tube by running a knife around the tube. Scrape the bottom to remove the base/tube.

Cut the cake with serrated knife. Enjoy with hot coffee or tea!