The classic Chiffon cake is the American recipe for the softest cake that exists, as light as a cloud. Thanks to the particular preparation technique, which involves using beaten egg whites, vegetable oil, and two combined leavening agents, and especially thanks to the unique way of cooling it upside down, typical of the panettone.
Its softness melts in your mouth, providing a unique sensation of lightness and pleasure. Perfect to enjoy at any time of the day, this cake can be enriched with a wide range of ingredients like coffee chiffon and orange chiffon
The soft and airy appearance of this cake captivates at first sight, while the aroma spreading in the kitchen during baking anticipates the pleasure of its unique flavor.
For homemade bundt cake lovers, I also recall other recipes, including one without sugar and one with natural leavening.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 299.11 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 44.10 (g) of which sugars 26.54 (g)
- Proteins 5.65 (g)
- Fat 12.50 (g) of which saturated 2.38 (g)of which unsaturated 9.63 (g)
- Fibers 0.58 (g)
- Sodium 36.05 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
INGREDIENTS
The ingredients are all easily found at the supermarket, for those unavailable you can buy cream of tartar at the pharmacy.
- 6 egg whites
- 6 g cream of tartar
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 packet baking powder
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Tools
For the perfect result of the cake, it is recommended to use the original mold, which is easily obtainable.
- 1 Mold (for chiffon cake) diameter 9.5 inches
- 1 Stand Mixer
Preparation
The preparation of the chiffon cake batter is very simple, the important thing is to separate the eggs well and beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. If you follow the video above, you will see that it is not complicated at all.
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks along with the cream of tartar.
In the meantime, beat the yolks with the sugar. When they are well lightened, gradually add the rest of the ingredients until you obtain a homogeneous batter.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter with circular movements from bottom to top, being careful not to deflate them. I recommend incorporating them in at least two batches so the first batch will lighten the batter and the second will deflate less.
Transfer the batter into the chiffon cake mold WITHOUT flouring or greasing it because it will need to cool upside down, and if the mold were greased, the chiffon would fall down!
Bake in a preheated oven at 320°F for 50 minutes and at 355°F for another 10 minutes. At this point, it should certainly be cooked, but still do the toothpick test.
Remove the chiffon cake from the oven and invert it onto a work surface, letting it rest on the specific feet provided by the mold, and leave it like this until completely cooled.
Once cooled, you can remove it from the mold and, if you like, serve it with a dusting of powdered sugar.
NOTES
If you don’t have the chiffon cake mold but want to try the recipe, you can simply use a large bundt cake mold, but you still need to cool it upside down, so help yourself with supports that can also be just 4 glasses.
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