Chiffon cake is a splendid item to serve for dessert. It's also kind of tough for newbies but not impossible to bake. Long story short, it's pretty much a sponge cake baked in a bundt or tube pan. Here's where it gets a little weird: it's also a fat cake whereas it contains fat but in the form of vegetable oil, making it quite moist. Additionally, this sponge cake is leavened with both eggs and chemicals (baking powder/soda).

Again, while this all seems like a lot to unpack, it's still a simple cake to make once you know how to. Below is a recipe for Key Lime Chiffon cake and is made no different from other variants like the one I covered; a Blood Orange Chiffon Cake.

This one, however, is slightly simpler than that one whereas the egg whites are beaten solo to save time. Enjoy.

The recipe

Cake ingredients:

  • 2 cups cake flour, sifted
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup fresh key lime juice
  • 4 tsp key lime zest
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 7 egg yolks
  • 8 egg whites

Glaze ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups confectionary sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp key lime juice
  • 2 tsp key lime zest for garnish (optional)

The directions

Cake directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, beat together the juice, zest, water, oil, vanilla extract, and yolks. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and beat together until fully combined.
  2. Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until they become stiff but remain wet. Do not overbeat.
  3. Gently fold a third of the beaten whites into the mixture gently until fully incorporated. Then fold in the remainder until everything is combined.
  4. Carefully spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch bundt pan or tube pan and tap the bottom on a flat surface a few times to knock out the bubbles from the bottom.
  5. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top springs back when it's touched.
  6. Carefully remove the pan from the oven with mitts and invert it over a cake rack or the neck of bottle, leaving it to cool completely. Once cooled, reinvert the pan and run a sharp knife around the edges. Place a plate over it and invert it again, then lift the tube pan straight up to remove the cake from the pan.

Glaze directions:

  1. Beat together the butter and confectionary sugar for 3 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and juice while still beating.
  2. To apply the glaze on the cake, pour a line of it around the center of the cake's surface, forming a ring. Afterward, spread the glaze across the surface using a spatula.
  3. Seal and chill the cake in the refrigerator until ready or serve immediately. When serving the cake, garnish it by sprinkling the key lime zest over the glazed surface.
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