Lemon Chiffon Cake

I am getting more and more comfortable with making a chiffon cake.


I no longer feel like having a stomach full of butterflies whenever I need to whip the egg whites, although I still can't really tell whether it has reached the stiff peak stage?! I am still not getting the hang of folding the whites to the yolk mixture though. Sometimes...maybe, I could have over-whipped the white a little, or maybe the yolk mixture was too thick...incorporating the whites into the yolk never seems to be as easy as stated in every chiffon cake recipes "Gently fold the egg whites into the batter just until blended, taking care not to deflate the batter." I usually take very much longer than expected, and I doubt I have ever been gentle when performing the act. Even watching demo video clips on youtube doesn't seem to help :(


Well, at least I am getting really good at unmolding the cake from the tube pan. Most of the time I am able to get it out without causing too much damage to the golden brown crust ;) The trick is to use a very thin-bladed knife.


The other obstacle I have yet to overcome is the oven temperature. It was only last week that I realised all the while I have been baking with my not-so-up-to-standard table-top oven. First of all, it is a small oven, just 20 litres, compared to one that is 40 litres. It doesn't come with a fan, and it has only one set of heating element that is located on the top. Most good ovens come with two sets of heating elements, top and bottom, and with a fan for circulation which helps to create an even temperature. I would think my oven is just slightly better than a toaster oven. No wonder, I always have problem baking a chiffon cake. Without fail, the oven temperature will drop by 20 degC when the cake goes in, so I always had to set it higher than the recommended temperature. The cake will rise high over the rim during baking, however, close to the finishing time, it will start to shrink, even before I take it out of the oven. Sometimes I have to tent the top of the cake as my oven is so small that the top of the tube is not more than 2 inches away from the heating element, while the bottom of the pan is only 1 inch away from the base of the oven, not forgetting I am using a small 7 in" tube pan.


Anyway, enough of complaining...with the ample supply of lemons in the fridge, I managed to bake a Lemon Chiffon Cake the other day. I didn't have time to search for a suitable recipe, so I tweaked my favourite Earl Grey Chiffon Cake recipe and turned it to a lemon flavoured cake.

My little experiment was a success. The texture of the cake was not affected, it was moist and tender. I like the mild and light lemony flavour which was not too tangy. It was great for breakfast, and was excellent served with a cup of afternoon tea.



Lemon Chiffon Cake

Ingredients
(makes one 18cm cake)

100g cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
40g caster sugar
50ml vegetable oil
50ml water
25ml lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

3 egg whites
40g caster sugar

Method:

1. Sieve flour, baking powder and salt 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 sugar in 3 separate additions and with a manual whisk, whisk till the mixture becomes sticky and turns pale.
4. Drizzle in the oil, whisking at the same time till the mixture is well combined. Repeat the same with the water, followed by the lemon juice. Sieve over the flour mixture and whisk until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter. Add in the lemon zest and mix well.
5. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat 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 45 ~ 50mins 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.