A lovely light-textured cake, similar to an Angel Food Cake but has the addition of egg yolks and oil. My preference is to serve with plenty of whipped cream or yoghurt and fruit. The secret to a successful Chiffon cake is not to grease the tin or to use a non-stick tin, as you want the cake to cling and rise. Turning upside-down and leaving to cool completely before turning out ensures a light texture. If the cake shrinks, the texture will be firmer and not as good to eat.
Ingredients
| 2 cups | Flour |
| 4 Tbsp | Cornflour |
| 2 tsp | Baking powder |
| 1 pinch | Salt |
| 1 cup | Caster sugar, plus an extra half a cup |
| 2 | Oranges, large (Main) |
| 7 | Egg yolks |
| ¼ cup | Sunflower oil, or I have also used mandarin-infused olive oil |
| 1 tsp | Vanilla extract |
| 8 | Egg whites |
| ½ tsp | Cream of tartar |
To decorate
| 400 ml | Cream, whipped |
| 1 punnet | Strawberries, hulled and sliced (Main) |
| 2 | Oranges, segmented |
| 1 handful | Fresh cherries |
| ¼ cup | Icing sugar, for dusting |
Directions
- Heat the oven to 170C. Line the base only of a 25cm angel food or tube tin with baking paper. Leave the tin ungreased.
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Remove 4 tablespoons of the flour and place back in your flour bag. Replace with the cornflour, sifting in with the baking powder and salt. Add the caster sugar, then make a well in the centre of the ingredients.
- Finely grate over the zest of the oranges, then juice the oranges and measure ½ cup of juice. Pour into the well along with the egg yolks, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
- Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the 8 egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form, then gradually beat in the extra ½ cup caster sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.
- Using a large spatula, fold 2 large tablespoonfuls of the beaten egg white into the flour mixture to loosen, then fold the remaining egg whites through. (Fold carefully using the fold and turning method as you don't want to lose volume). Gently pour the mixture evenly into the tin and place in the oven. Bake for 60 minutes until cooked through. You can insert a skewer into the cake to test as well.
- Remove from the oven. Invert the tin to stand on its feet so it sits above the bench. (If there are no feet on your tin, then use a bottle or stand on upside-down glasses). Cooling the cake this way prevents it collapsing.
- Cool the cake, then carefully slide a small spatula or knife around the edge, between the tin and the cake, to remove it from the tin. The base of the cake will be the top and ready for decorating once completely cold.
- To serve, spread the top with some of the whipped cream, then top with the segmented oranges, some sliced strawberries, and a few cherries.
- Dust cake with icing sugar. Or you could macerate the strawberries in a good splash of Grand Marnier or add to the whipped cream to flavour. Finely grate the zest of the oranges before segmenting and use to flavour the cream or sprinkle on top of the cake.
- The cake will keep undecorated in an airtight tin for 2-3 days.