Banana Blueberry Chiffon Cake

I wasn't in the mood to make any bread recently...in fact anything that appears too complicated would be strike out from my to-do list. I sat down one morning and spent some time running through my pile of recipes before I finally decided to make a chiffon cake. Although the steps are pretty straight forward, I always find it very challenging when it comes to making a chiffon cake. I have to keep my fingers crossed all the time...from the beating and folding of the egg whites, the baking temperature and even the unmoulding. I would only heave a sigh of relieve after I cut a slice of the cake. I would never know whether I got a chiffon cake right until I have tasted it.

I adapted the recipe that was meant for a strawberry chiffon cake and turned it into a banana blueberry flavour by using my homemade banana & blueberry jam. The preparation of the cake was uneventful...as the ingredients are really very simple and the steps easy to follow. The only thing that I am still not sure was when to stop beating the egg whites!


I was lucky that my oven was under a rather stable condition...the cake rose high and mighty during baking...and even when it was close to the finishing time, it didn't deflate too much. This is indeed a rare occasion, most of the time, my chiffon would start sinking even before I removed it from the oven. I would also attribute it to the recipe, as I find that recipes from this Taiwanese author, 曾美子 are very reliable.


I allowed the cake to continue to bake for a further 5 mins beyond the recommended time as I have little faith in my oven ;) I was glad I did the right thing as the cake has got this lovely golden brown crust after I unmoulded it.


The texture of the cake was wonderful...light, cottony and very fluffy. It was an instant hit with the kids. However, I find the cake a tad too sweet, likely due to the sweet jam. I like the chunks of blueberries embedded in the cake though. I'd made a mental note that I'll have to cut down the sugar a little the next time I were to make this again.



Banana Blueberry Chiffon

Ingredient A:

3 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
3 tablespoons blueberry jam (or any jam of your choice)
40ml vegetable oil
40ml fruit juice (I used cranberry juice)
70g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder


Ingredient B:
3 egg whites
50g caster sugar

Method:

1. Sieve flour, baking powder together, set aside.
2. Separate egg yolks/whites and bring to room temperature. (It is easier to separate eggs when they are cold.)
3. Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl, add in sugar, and with a manual whisk, whisk till the mixture becomes very sticky and turn pale. (Test by lifting the whisk, once the batter is able to leave a ribbon-like trail behind, you are done. Another way to gauge: your arm should be very tired by now.)
4. Drizzle in the oil, whisking at the same time till the mixture is well combined. Repeat the same for the fruit juice. Add in the jam, mix well. Sieve over the flour mixture and whisk until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter.
5. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Beat in the sugar in 3 separate additions on high speed until  just before stiff peaks form* (after note: after several attempts at baking chiffon cakes, I learned that the whites should be beaten until just before stiff peaks form).
6. Add the beaten egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
7. Pour batter into a 18cm (7 inch) tube pan (do not grease the pan). Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
8. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 30 ~ 35mins or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let cool completely before unmould. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

Recipe adapted from: 曾美子戚风cake零失败