Chiffon Cake
A tall, airy cake made with oil and whipped egg whites, baked in a tube tin and cooled upside down.
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Making Chiffon Cake Ahead
Keeps in an airtight tin for 3 days.
Making Chiffon Cake
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Heat the oven to 170°C / 340°F. Whisk the flour, 150 g of the sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
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Make a well and add the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk until smooth.
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Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy, then add the remaining 150 g sugar a spoonful at a time and whip to stiff peaks.
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Fold the whites into the batter in three parts. Pour into an ungreased 25 cm tube tin.
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Bake for 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Turn the tin upside down at once and cool for 1 hour before releasing.
Worth Knowing
- Keep every trace of yolk out of the whites.
- Do not grease the tin.
- If your oven runs hot, check at 42 minutes.
- Cool upside down.
Some Background
Get the whites right and the cake rises by itself. That is the quick tip for a chiffon cake, and the reason it takes more care than most.
Separate the eggs while they are cold, and make sure not a speck of yolk gets into the whites. Wipe the bowl with a little vinegar first, since any grease stops the whites from whipping. Whip them with the cream of tartar until they stand in stiff, glossy peaks. Fold the whites into the batter in three parts. The first loosens the batter and the next two keep the air in.
Bake in an ungreased tube tin at 170°C / 340°F for 50 minutes. The batter climbs the sides of the tin as it bakes, so greasing it makes the cake slip. If your oven runs hot, check at 42 minutes.
Turn the tin upside down at once, standing it on its feet or on a bottle neck, and leave it for 1 hour. This keeps the cake from collapsing while it sets. Loosen the edges with a knife to release.
Serving Ideas
Fresh berries · Whipped cream · Lemon curd · Hot tea
Quick Answers
How long does Chiffon Cake take to make?
25 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour of Cooling upside down, so allow 2 hours 15 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 12.
Chiffon Cake Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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