Chiffon cakes are not only tall, light and airy but they are also incredibly rich and tender. The height comes from the whipped egg white, and the moist crumb is the result of a few egg yolks and vegetable oil.
Chiffon cakes are some of the most beautiful cakes you will find in a bakery case. They may not have multiple layers or fancy frosting, but they are classic cakes that are always crowd-pleasers. That makes this delightful lemon chiffon cake recipe the perfect addition to your baking repertoire.
The key to a successful chiffon cake is perfectly whipped egg whites. When you lift the beater from the bowl they form peaks that yield with gravity. Once you have these beautifully whipped egg whites, make sure they retain air as you incorporate them into the rest of the chiffon cake batter.
Like an angel food cake, which is very similar in appearance, this lemon chiffon cake is baked in a round tube pan. The pan should be degreased, allowing the cake "to climb" the sides of the pan as it rises. Once baked, the cake should stick to the sides of the pan. When you invert the pan and allow the cake to cool, it won't fall out of the pan. When ready to ice and serve the cake, simply run a knife along the outside edge of the pan and it will release itself beautifully.
Ingredients:
- 5 eggs, separated ( about 50g each w/o shell)
- 120g sugar, divided
- 3 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 75g cake flour*
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp icing sugar, for sprinkling on the cake
Method:
You will need a 7" chiffon cake pan. Do not grease the mould. Preheat oven to 170ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven.
Separate the eggs to yolks and whites. Egg yolks in a large bowl and egg whites in the stand-mixer. In the bowl with egg yolks add half of the sugar and whisk until pale yellow.
Add 3 tbsp vegetable oil and zest of 2 lemons. Add 4 tbsp lemon juice to the egg mixture and whisk well.
Sift 75g cake flour and 1 tsp baking powder into the egg mixture. Whisk until totally incorporated and make sure there are no lumps.
In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites on medium low speed until opaque, foamy and bubbly. Increase the speed to high and add in the sugar slowly in small increments. It takes about 2-3 minutes until stiff peaks form. To check on stiff peaks, pull up your whisk and see if the egg whites go straight up and just the tip is soft enough that it folds over.
Using a whisk, fold in 1/3 of the egg whites in the batter until the mixture is homogeneous. Fold in the rest of the egg whites in 2-3 increments and mix gently until the mixture is homogeneous.
Pour the batter into the ungreased 7" chiffon cake pan in the same location to prevent from forming more bubbles.
To prevent or remove air pockets before baking, run a skewer or spatula through the batter and then drop the pan gently on the kitchen worktop a few times.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed.
As soon as you take out the cake pan from the oven, drip it gently on the kitchen worktop to stop shrinking. The cake must be cooled upside down in its pan so that it stretches downward instead of collapsing. Let it cool completely.
To remove the cake, run a thin sharp knife around both the outer and inner edge of the cake. Remove the cake from the pan and run the knife on the bottom. Move onto a serving plate.
Dust with icing sugar on top, if you like, and enjoy!
Note: For home made cake flour:
For every 1 cup of plain flour, remove 2 tbsp of plain flour
Add 2 tbsp of cornflour for every 1 cup of plain flour. Basically you are replacing the 2 tbsp of plain flour taken out.
Sift 4-6 times and it is ready-to-use cake flour
1 cup cake flour =120g
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