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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Gently fold a third of the beaten whites into the mixture gently until fully incorporated. Then fold in the remainder until everything is combined.
- 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.
- Place into the preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top springs back when it's touched.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.