Thursday 10 July 2014

Lemon Chiffon Cake

These lovely browned chiffon cakes baked by some blogger pals like Kimmy of  http://kimmy-cookingpleasure.blogspot.sg/2014/04/orange-rice-flour-chiffon-cake.html?m=0, Tze http://awayofmind.blogspot.sg/2011/07/honey-lemon-chiffon-cake.html?m=1 & Phong Hong http://phonghongbakes.blogspot.sg/2012/06/pandan-chiffon-cake.html?m=0 and my baking kaki JSeow had really inspired me to attempt chiffon cake ... even though I don't have a chiffon tube pan.

I was laughing at my 'naked' chiffon cakes as I thought that chiffon cakes were supposedly wrapped with "brown sarong" ... that has very nicely browned sides in most chiffon cakes pictures I've seen.
Lemon Chiffon Cake
I borrowed a chiffon tube pan from my 'baking kaki' to try 2 recipes that I've bookmarked long ago, both adapted from Happy Home Baking :
cranberry orange chiffon cake
lemon chiffon cake

Sadly :( ... both my attempts yielded unsatisfactory results.

Here's my sharing :
1st cake: Cranberry Orange Chiffon Cake
When I took the pan out from the oven, I didn't handle it well as I accidentally hit the center of the pan when trying to invert it. Gosh! I've forgotten that it was a 'REMOVABLE' base cake pan ... It got unmould... obviously I couldn't put on it's 'sarong' or 'skirt' back and just leave it to cool 'naked' on the rack... LOL!

Pls don't look at me ... shy shy !
Cranberry Orange chiffon cake

2nd cake: Lemon Chiffon Cake (adapted from Happy Home Baking)
Ingredients
(makes one 18cm cake) <I used a 21cm tube pan>

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.
For both cakes when removed from the oven, I used the suggested technique to drop the pan at a height of 20~30cm onto a table top. This action helps to keep the springy texture of the cake when it is left to cool.

I was extremely careful this time not to strip off the 'sarong'. But when unmould ... opps ... no 'sarong' again !

Why you didn't rise to 3rd storey high? 
Yeah ! I'm covered !
Oh O ! No 'sarong' again :(
Both cakes didn't rise as tall, perhaps I've used a smaller quantity recipe unfit for a bigger pan size. (Lesson learned,  don't be 'k kiang' act smart ... use the right recipe for right pan size!!!) ... Or perhaps I've not beaten the whites to peak ... :(

But overall the texture was ok, soft and fluffy but not to its maximum fluffiness ( which I'm expecting) for both cakes.

Thanks to my baking kakis JoSua for her chiffon tube pan and JSeow for some of her professional advice.

Lemon chiffon cake
Saw some chiffon cake recipes that uses rice flour ... okay okay ... my next chiffon lesson ^-^ 加油 !

Bake-Along #64 : Theme - Chiffon CakePhotobucket

Linking this post for Bake-Along event and 
post linking direct to hosts' post (JoyceLena or Zoe)


22 comments:

  1. Sometimes chiffon cake can be tricky to made. I made countless time on chiffon cake but the only thing I dreaded is folding the egg whites to the yolk mixture. If didnt fold in combining well enough with whites lump will result holes in the cake texture. I just made one two days ago and there.....full of holes!! I can see that your cake looking so good.

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    1. Thanks for your encouragement, Mel. Mine still not that fluffy ... I will bake another chiffon cake, hope better than these two.

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  2. Hi Karen! hah..hah...you made me laugh :D When I baked my first chiffon cake, the cake also slipped out of the pan. I don't know why. I thought it was supposed to stick to the pan hah..hah....But the next one after that was normal. Your cake looks good although "naked" hah..hah...I think your pan is too big for the amount of batter. I think I am going to join in the fun and bake a chiffon cake this weekend. And oh, thanks for the mention :)

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    1. Ha ha ! Phone Hong, I really LOL .. yeah join in the fun ^-^!

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  3. I am really wanting to try to make a chiffon cake now!! This looks delicious!

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    1. Hi Cathleen, thanks and looking forward to your sharing.

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  4. Hi Karen, I actually like the look of the skinless cakes, more neat! Ya, I think your pan is too big for this recipe, should find one with 4 or 5 eggs:) No cracks on your cake, I like!

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    1. Hi Jeannie, ya I need to use the right recipe for this pan ... thanks for the tips ^-^!

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  5. Good try, Karen! 加油!!

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  6. like mel too, i at times needed some skills to get the yolks folded into the whites properly...here's a link that you might find it a little useful to read..i sometime do refer to that link too..jia you! you will get better !

    http://allthatmatters2rei.blogspot.com/2008/07/chiffon-cake-tips-and-trouble-ii.html

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    1. Hi Lena, thanks for your encouragement and the link too ... very informative and will bake chiffon again ... hope better result ^-^

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  7. Hi Karen, I have my good and bad bakes too. Thank you for sharing.

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  8. Your chiffon cake looks good too.....haven't tried with lemon. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks, I still need improvement ... thanks for dropping by ^-^

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  9. Hi Karen,
    Your chiffon cake looks fluffty! The correct size pan really matters, if you are looking for a tall and "mighty" cake! :)
    I think you did great in baking these tricky cakes! Thank you for baking along with us!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Joyce, thanks for your encouragement. Yes I know now ... use the correct pan size ^-^

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  10. Hi Karen,

    加油! 加油! I have a few chiffon cake lessons too before tasting the real chiffon cake... LOL! My husband used to claim to be the chiffon cake baking expert but also baked lousy chiffon cakes sometimes... LOL! After a few practices, I think my chiffon cake baking is better than my husband now... LOL! ... All because I never give up :p

    Zoe

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    1. Thanks Zoe, indeed very encouraging. Will bake chiffon cake again 加油!

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  11. Haven't bake chiffon cake for almost a year, been seeing so many chiffon cakes lately makes me feel like trying again! Hmm...not sure if I will succeed as only tried once. Let's 加油 together!

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    1. Hi Cheryl, yeah ! I'm sure chiffon cake难不倒你! Hope to see your sharing ^-^

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Sharing some of my favourite recipes, some new baking/cooking "adventures". Please feel free to post your comments for my improvement. Would be great to connect with you and learn some of your recipes too. Thanks for 'dropping by'.