Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake

Lemon glow chiffon cake is one of my favorites because of its texture and softness. It is also very light and stores well.

Baking partners, the group of baking enthusiasts who came together and started baking together completed its one year this month. I have been a part of this group started by Swathi Iyer of Zesty South Indian Kitchen since the beginning of this year and I have thoroughly enjoyed baking with these amazing bakers.

I have learned several new techniques and recipes with this group which I would have never attempted otherwise.

I am very happy to say that this month’s baking challenge; the Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake would also be my 200th post. Thank you one and all for all your support and encouragement.

Coming to the cake, I have always been awed seeing the texture of this cake. Making this cake does require some mind-blowing steps which were fun to do, but it is not a hard recipe. If followed correctly, the cake could be made within a couple of hours.

This recipe was suggested by Saraswathi of Sara’s kitchen and she adapted this recipe from the book The Cake Bible written by Rose Levy Beranbaum.

What is Chiffon Cake

Chiffon cakes are foam cakes that have a soft and spongy texture. This cake is very similar in appearance to angel food cake and is usually baked in the same type of tube pan. Chiffon cakes, unlike angel food cakes, contain both egg yolks and vegetable oil. These two ingredients keep the cake moist, soft and tender which tastes great and keeps it well.

Even when refrigerated this cake remains soft. The reason is that this cake contains oil instead of butter which remains soft even in the refrigerator unlike butter which hardens when refrigerated. . Because of the lower fat level than butter cake and less cholesterol and saturated fat, this could very well be the guilt-free cake that you could indulge in.

The chiffon cake was created by Harry Baker, a Los Angeles insurance agent, in 1927. Baker carefully guarded his secret technique for almost two decades, only selling his cakes to celebrities and the famous Brown Derby restaurant. The popularity of his cakes grew quickly, and he eventually sold the recipe to General Mills in 1947.

Now, Mr. Baker had two big secrets with his chiffon cake recipe. The first is that chiffon cakes use oil instead of butter, which aids in the airy quality of the cake. It is also nice because the cake can be refrigerated without firming up.

The second secret of the chiffon cake is to whip the egg whites separately from the yolks and to fold them ever so gently into the batter. If done correctly, the results are divine. If not, you can end up with an oozy-gooey mess in your pans.

Preparation time – 30 mins
Cooking time – 50 – 55 mins
Difficulty level – medium

Ingredients to make Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake – Makes 1 – 10 inch tube pan

Dry Ingredients –

• Cake flour – 2 ¼ cup/ 8 oz/ 225 gms
• Sugar (caster) – 1 ½ cups/300 gms
• Salt – ½ tsp
• Baking soda – ½ tsp
• Lemon zest – 1 ½ tbsp

Wet ingredients –

• Egg yolk – from 3 large eggs
• Water (room temp) – ⅔ cup/ 156 gms
• Oil (vegetable or canola) – ½ cup / 108gms
• Lemon juice (freshly squeezed) – 2 tbsp/ 30 gms
• Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

For Meringue –

Procedure to make Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake –

• Separate the eggs and leave them outside at room temperature for at least half an hour.

• Preheat the oven to 325 F. Keep the 10-inch tube pan with a detachable base ready. Do not grease the pan. It is essential to leave the pan ungreased to enable the cake to rise.
  
• In a large bowl, measure the sugar. Add the lemon zest and work it with the sugar until the sugar becomes grainy and very aromatic.

• Add the cake flour, salt, and baking soda to the bowl and mix them well.
  
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add all the wet ingredients to the well. Using a whisk, mix all the ingredients well together until there are no lumps and the batter becomes smooth.

• To make the meringue - In a clean large mixing bowl, add the egg whites and start beating them until they are grainy and foamy.
  
• Now add the cream of tartar and beat it on medium speed until soft peaks form. The soft peak is a stage where the beater whisk makes a mark, but the peaks fall off the whisk. At this stage start adding the 2 tablespoon of sugar gradually and beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. This is the stage when the peaks stand in an upright position without falling off the whisk.
  
• Slowly add about ⅓rd of the egg white to the prepared batter and gently stir it until well incorporated. Use a folding motion to mix the egg whites rather than quick mixing. Take care not to deflate the egg whites when mixing.

• Add the remaining egg whites in 2 more batches and incorporate it well until no trace of egg white can be found in the batter.

• Transfer the batter to an ungreased tube pan. Run a knife or spatula through the batter a few times to remove any air pockets from the batter.

• Bake for 50 – 55 mins until the cake bounces back when gently pressed in the center. Try to bake close to its actual baking time, since the cake would be a gooey mess when undercooked. If the top seems to be browning too quickly, cover the pan with foil and continue baking to its actual baking time.

Halfway into the baking time

Fresh out of the oven

• Once cooked, please remove it from the oven and immediately invert it over a bottle or anything similar that could hold the pan safely upside down. Also, ensure that there is space between the counter and the pan so there is enough airflow to cool the cake.

• Let the cake remain in this position until completely cool, about 2 hrs.
  
• Now run a blunt knife or a spatula against the wall of the pan to loosen the cake.

• Remove the cake from the pan with its base intact. Now run a knife under the base of the pan and remove the cake carefully.

Eager hands ready to grab the cake!

• Place it on the serving tray with the bottom side on top and dust it with confectionery sugar!

• This cake remains fresh for up to 3 days at room temperature, 10 days in the refrigerator, and for up to a month in the freezer.

Similar Recipes

Recipe

Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake

Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake is a foam cake leavened with egg whites, similar to an angel food cake. This cake offers the lilting flavor of lemon, balanced by the moist, light texture found only in a chiffon cake.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Baking recipes, Cakes, Festival Recipes, Lemon Chiffon cake

Cuisine: American

Diet: Low Lactose, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 281kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

• ▢
  Oven
• ▢
  Knife
• ▢
  bowl
• ▢
  hand blender
• ▢
  spatula
• ▢
  pan

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients -

• ▢ 225 gms Cake flour
• ▢ 300 gms Sugar caster – 1 ½ cups/
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Baking soda

Wet Ingredients -

• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoon Lemon zest
• ▢ 3 Egg yolk
• ▢ ⅔ cup Water room temp
• ▢ ½ cup Oil vegetable or canola
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Lemon juice freshly squeezed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence

For Meringue –

• ▢ 7 Egg whites
• ▢ 1 ¼ teaspoon Cream of tartar
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Sugar

Instructions

• Separate the eggs and leave it outside in room temperature for at least half an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 325 F. Keep the 10 inch tube pan with detachable base ready. Do not grease the pan. It is important to leave the pan ungreased to enable the cake to rise.
• In a large bowl, measure the sugar. Add the lemon zest and work it with the sugar until the sugar becomes grainy and very aromatic.
• Now add the cake flour, salt and baking soda to the bowl and mix them well.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add all the wet ingredients in the well. Using a whisk, mix all the ingredients well together until there are no lumps and the batter becomes smooth.
• To make the meringue - In a clean large mixing bowl, add the egg whites and start beating them until they are grainy and foamy.
• Now add the cream of tartar and beat it on medium speed until soft peaks form. Soft peak is a stage where the beater whisk makes mark, but the peaks fall off the whisk. At this stage start adding the 2 tablespoon of sugar gradually and beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. This is the stage when the peaks stand in an upright position without falling off the whisk.
• Slowly add about ⅓rd of the egg white to the prepared batter and gently stir it until well incorporate. Use folding motion to mix the egg whites rather than quick mixing. Take care not to deflate the egg whites when mixing.
• Add the remaining egg whites in 2 more batches and incorporate it well until no trace of egg white can be found in the batter.
• Transfer the batter into ungreased tube pan. Run a knife or spatula through the batter few times to remove any air pockets from batter.
• Bake for 50 – 55 mins until the cake bounces back when gently pressed in the center. Try to bake close to it actual baking time, since the cake would be gooey mess when undercooked. If the top seems to be browning a bit too quick, cover the pan with foil and continue baking to its actual baking time.
• Once cooked, remove it from the oven and immediately invert it over a bottle or anything similar that could hold the pan safely upside down. Also make sure that there is space in between the counter and the pan so there is enough air flow to cool the cake.
• Let the cake remain in this position until completely cool, about 2 hrs.
• Now run a blunt knife or a spatula against the wall of the pan to loosen the cake.
• Remove the cake with from the pan with its base intact. Now run a knife under the base of the pan and remove the cake carefully.
• Place it on the serving tray with the bottom side on top and dust with confectionery sugar!
• This cake remains fresh up to 3 days in room temperature, 10 days in the refrigerator and for up to a month in the freezer.

Nutrition

Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 109mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 66IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!