A tall, soft, and springy chiffon cake makes the perfect addition to any and all dessert tables, especially when dusted with powdered sugar and served with fresh cream and berries!
7largeeggsseparated into yolks and whites. At room temperature *
1/2teaspooncream of tartar
powdered sugarfor dusting, optional
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Beat together oil, milk, extracts, and egg yolks until foamy.
Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form (about 6 minutes) in the bowl of a standing mixer.
Gently stir the foamy egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture.
Use a spatula to fold the egg whites (1⁄3 at a time) into the batter. Be careful not to over-stir so that you preserve the air in the egg whites.
Transfer the batter to a 10-inch tube pan or angel food cake pan. Do not grease the pan, as the batter will cling to the sides of the pan to gain its height.
Bake for approximately 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few crumbs, and the cake springs back when pressed gently.
Cool UPSIDE DOWN. Angel food cake pans have little metal “feet” on the top of the pan for standing the cake upside down. You can also invert the pan onto the neck of a wine bottle. Cool for at least 30 minutes upside down. You can cool it completely.
Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan by running a small spatula or knife around the edges. Turn out the cake onto a serving platter.
Dust with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream and/or fresh berries.
Video
Notes
Egg whites should be room temperature when whipping for the best volume. Be sure that there are no specks of egg yolk in the whites or they will not whip properly.
Cooling the chiffon cake upside down allows the cake to cool while keeping all the bubbles and air in the cake rather than it becoming condensed by gravity during cooling.
It’s important that you do not grease the pan - the batter will grab onto the sides and center tube of the pan and “climb” to gain a lot of height in the oven. Then while cooling, it’s important that the cake maintains its cling so that it can cool upside down.