Orange Chiffon Cake
Friday, May 29, 2009
One of my favourite flavours, orange! The tang just feels.... awakening!
From Alex Goh's basic recipe, I adapted it into any flavour I want. As long as I maintain the ratio of ingredients.
Iris, hope this step by step Chiffon cake will be of help to you.
All the best in ur chiffon cake adventures.
Step-by Step Orange Chiffon Cake Recipe
Ingredients:(A)
115ml fresh orange juice
4 egg yolks
75ml corn oil
100gm sugar
150gm flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp orange zest
(B)
4 egg whites
90gm sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
Method:
1. Combine egg yolks, oil, orange juice and sugar. Mix well.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and put into (1)and combine.
3. Stir in orange zest. Set aside
4. Place egg whites into a clean bowl and beat on low speed until it froths. Add in cream of tartar and continue to beat at high speed until soft peaks.
5. Put in sugar at 3 intervals and beat until stiff peaks.
Hmmm...not stiff at all
Stiff..... not not stiff enough
6. Lift up beaters.Ok.. see... It's stiff, very stiff and pointy. But the peaks are fat, not short and thin. If they are short and thin, you have overbeaten them, and you cake might fall out from the pan when you overturn it.
7. Put in 1/4 of egg whites into (3). Fold the egg whites into the batter. Repeat step (7).
8. Pour the whole of batter onto remaining egg whites and fold well.Please don't stir, must fold.
9. Pour (8) into a (22 or 25cm) ungreased clean tube pan. Lightly shake it left and right to level cake
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 170/180C for 40 minutes.
11. Invert pan immediately after removing from oven. Leave cake to cool down totally this way.
12. Overturn the cake.
13. Remove cake from pan. (Method in picture)
14. Overturn cake onto serving plate.
15. Cut cake with a sharp knife and serve.
Posts
66 lovely notes:
I tried at least 5 times to make Chiffon Cake. Finally I made it sucessfully. Thanks for your recipe with pictures that were really help me alot.
Iris
My sister--Alice said Orange Chiffon Cake is more taster than the Pandan one.
Iris
Wendy, your Chiffon cake look so perfect!
Hi Wendy, your chiffon cake looks great! The texture looks so good!
Hi Wendy, saw your comment at HHB. Your chiffon cake looks perfect. Alex Goh's recipe are generally quite robust. That is why he uses baking powder (to lend a helping hand in rising the cake) and cream of tartar (to stabilise the egg white). I have always based my recipes on the Japanese recipes that do away with additives. As a result of which, the proportion of the various components (especially water to flour to egg white to sugar) needs to be more precise. In addition, the physical stability of the meringue is critical :-). Will be experimenting with a blueberry chiffon recipe to see if I can help HHB out...
KWF, HHB: tx
Kokken69,I actually tried making my pandan chiffon cake (adapted from Alex's basic version)w/o baking powder. It's just less tall, and more fragile. Looks of texture is the same, fine crumbed. BTW, I don't find cream of tartar to be all that bad, it's just the grape acid found outside on wine crates when the wines are fermenting. Just my 2 cents.
Oh ya, u can still replace cream of tartar with all-natural lemon juice. A bit of acidity is needed to stabilize the egg whites.
Hi Wendy. Yes, indeed the function of Cream of Tartar is to change the pH of the system to stabilise the egg white. I do use Lemon juice in my recipe but not in the meringue - I add it to the egg yolk mixture so that the meringue will stay stable during mixing. You are absolutely right in pointing out that Cream of Tartar is obtained from the natural fermentation of grapes. However, it can also be synthesised. I tend to be apprehensive about the stuff we get off the shelf. The science of egg white is very fascinating- it is usually the culprit that causes a souffle to sink, the macaron to flop. However, I have to confess something - I have to give credit also to my Kitchenaide Mixer. This is one mixer that seems to outdo others when it comes to whipping egg white :-) Looking forward to sharing baking tips with you....
Kokken, there were 2 comments, I chose the more detailed one to publish.
Sure, look forward to more tips from u. :)
Oh,yes, I got an error message after the first message. So I thought it didn't go throug... :-)
Hi Wendy,I have just posted my ramblings on my blueberry chiffon... do check it out if you have time and let me have your thoughts on it...:-)
Tried this orange chiffon recipe yesterday nite. Made 2 cakes. Am dissapointed cause the cakes didnt turn out right. One using a 22cm pan and another one with 25cm pan It was wonderful in the oven, rising and looks perfect. When done, i immediately remove it from the oven and inverted the pan. The 25cm cake drop out from the pan easily and shrunk... As for the 22cm, half of the cake drop out and remaining still stuck onto the pan.. what happen??
Did u flip the cake and landed it with a thud?? Did u oil ur pan?
Well, my whole Pandan Chiffon cake fell while inverted once. I don't know why it fell too. Could it be I inverted it way too too soon? Hmm... I remove my cake from oven, close the door, and from my oven to where I invert my cake, takes about 5 seconds to walk. Maybe u try inverting it 5-10 seconds after removal from oven, cos a "too hot" cake could be very fragile.
Thanks to your all pics, my 3rd try at chiffon finally worked! I halved your recipe as I have a small 16cm angel cake tube pan instead of a standard high one for chiffon. Further, due to past trials, I simply have no confidence anymore.
Glad to say, I finally made it! It was delicious!
Had to work on my baking timings and unmoulding skills in future. Thanks again for the effort in posting pics up.
Glad to hear that galronni!
It's never time to give up, u'll never know whether ur next attempt will be the one that is successful.
hi, wow ur oven can fits in 2 chiffon pan at a time?
mind asking what oven u using ?
Thanks
simonneho@yahoo.com
Simonne,
I didn't bake two cakes at the same time. I baked the 2nd cake when the 1st cake was out from the oven.
My oven is an old microwave convection oven bought by my MIL more than 15 years back.
Oh ic thanks
but i agree old modle are more durable - wow 15 years!!
Tested your orange chiffon cake. Texture were soft and taste was good. My mom liked it alot. Asked me to bake her one more so she can bring back to kampung. Your instructions were very good. Thank you for sharing.
Angeline,
Thanks!!
Actually with your professional baking skills, even if I just dump you with the ingredients and no instructions, you'll be able to whip up a good chiffon cake.
I think I share the same interest as you. Love to bake & eat! Most importantly is to experiment new recipes. When I go holidays, I miss my oven dearly. You know what? Once I come back from my 2 weeks holiday soon, I would like to try out ur pandan chiffon & kek lapis. haha.. My mom's fav! Surely will drop you a line the outcome.
Angeline,
Hahaha, if you have people to eat the stuff you make then oklor, then can make make make and experiment. Me ah, I have to distribute my bakes to make them finish on the day itself.
I don't like keeping them around for more than a day. Now I've baked much lesser.
hello... just wondering if the cake pan was greased?
also, correct me if i am wrong but from your pictures it appears that your pan has a removable base... did u wrap it with foil while baking? curious about that as the only tube pan i have at home has a removable base.... thanks!
Anonymous,
Yes, my tube pan has a removable bottom. Never ever grease a pan for chiffon cakes, cos it needs the clean surface to cling to when it's baking and when inverted to cool down.
I never wrap the base and it has never ever leaked when baking chiffon cakes.
Hi, this was my first time to baked chiffon cake. It turned out great and my daugh loves it. It's healthy too. Thanks for sharing
Anonymous,
Glad to hear that.
Thanks for the feedback.
Hi Wendy,
Can you elaborate more on step 1? Do you need to beat the egg yolks? Do you use just hand whisk or electric hand mixer?
And on step 2, when you sift in the flour and baking powder, will the mixture become lumpy?
Thank you.
*NewBaker*
NewBaker,
1. Just mix. Use spoon, fork , chopstick, spatula or even whisk. It will be fine. It's just a simple task of getting everything together. "beat" will not be interused with "mix" in my blog. They have different meanings. So, don't worry. Beat is more vigourous.
2. After you sift the flour in, mix it. Of course at first it wil be lumpy because it's flour, but then as u mix it, the lumps will be smoothened out. YOu can use a spoon or spatula, but a hand whisk will be quicker. No need to dirty ur mixer for this step. Leave it clean to beat the whites
lovely orange chiffon! i love it!
hi wendy
Thanks for your recipe i tried it was so delicious and my family loves it
Hi Wendy, i read your blog quite often. I just bake chiffon last night but not sure why it turns wet. I follow the recipe and how we beat egg white but still like this. can adv?
You may contact me via sandygcy@hotmail.com
Sandy,
Wet? Try baking it longer.
Different ovens will need different timing.
Thanks Wendy. How can I keep contact with you? Wish to get closer with those "sifu" clever in baking one..hehe..as i can learn well..
Btw, we need to cool down the chiffon before taking out the cake from the mould?
Sandy,
You can interact with me via this blog.
I check comments few times a day.
Step 11 says, "Cool down completely".
Chiffons should never be removed from the mould and cut when even warm. It must be absolutely cooled. If not it might be wet or it might shrink.
one more question, why the chiffon mould must turn upside down right after oven?
Sandy
Sandy,
The chiffon contains a lot of moisture, therefore is heavy. It relies on the heat during baking to rise and continue to be high.
When removed from the oven, the air is cool, and the cake will shrink. Due to its weight(liquid's), it will definately shrink get and compact if not turned upside down. So, if u turn the cake, gravity will pull the cake down and retain it's height (when turned,the bottom, which is now the the top is held by the pan's base)
When the cake has totally cooled, the structure is sort of "fixed" and is sturdy already. So, you must invert and cool it totally before doing anything to it so that maximum height and fluffiness can be achieved.
Thanks Wendy..now I know why already
Wendy, why my chiffon cake turn wet in the second day after bake?
Anonymous
Make sure the cake is totally cooled before storing, and make sure the cake is well aerated when it's inverted. Don't leave it too near the table. If possible, let the cake rest one feet above your table.
Nowadays I put the cake, inverted on a wite rack, then I place the wire rack suspended in between 2 chairs or above the sink.
Thanks Wendy..the cake very delicious but after one day later it turns wet..I will try the method again....Sandy
hi. want to try your chiffon recipe, but the pandan one coz i really love pandan. am afraid of making chiffon coz people say its harder than making sponge. even when i make sponge, my cake does not turn out perfect, sometimes wet and collapses. Just wondering whether can use other pans to make chiffon or must be tube type? can use a removable base or just ordinary cake pan?
-ona-
ona,
Chiffon cakes are easier than sponge cakes, unless those who told you sponge is easier are baking with sponge mix.
Tube pan quickens the cooking process so, it lessens the chances of being wet and collapsing.
If yours collapse and feels wet, it is definitely underbaked. If your oven don't have a fan, bake it for at least 1 hour.
If you use a regular pan, it takes longer to bake and the cake will not be as tall and fluffy because there is less surface for it to climb. You can use a removable base, but you must invert it as well, and bake it longer than a tube pan requires, plus, do not grease of line the removable base pan.
thank you so much for your quick reply. don't know how you manage to blog, cook yummy food, care for 3 kids and the usual mother's job...supermom!
i'll give it a try this weekend and i'll definitely let u know how it turn out.:)
-ona-
Hi Wendy,
I tried baking this cake today and the based of the cake has got a layer of "thick wet bottom"..common problem with chiffon cake. I had been making pandan chiffon with much success but not this one. I am hoping that I did not "over fold" bcos there were still some "whites" while i pour the batter into the baking pan. I am just wondering what could have gone wrong. Btw, is 115ml = 115gram ?
Best regards,
Chilliqueen
Chilliqueen,
hmmm... actually a lot of readers have tried out this recipe and had success with it.
thick wet bottom? Did you let the cake wait before baking?
115ml is almost the same as 115gm, when it comes to orange juice, don't make much difference.
I wonder how big are the other recipes that you've tried? As in, how many eggs-flour?
hi wendy.
finally baked this cake. i rate it as successful because i was told that chiffon cakes are intimidating but in actual fact easier than making sponge cakes! it rose nicely in oven but over the cake tin coz i put in too much. after taking it out, immediately inverted it. tried to put it standing on a small plastic container, and pan wobbled and fell down. so the cake dropped out too. i assumed the cake dropped due to the fall, not because it was underbake, just feeling very confident that i was successful..hahahah. will definitely try it again, but this time will go and buy the correct size pan. so so so happy.
-ona-
ona,
Glad to hear about this.
In my personal opinion, real sponge cakes are a lot lot more difficult to bake than chiffon cakes.
If using sponge mix or ovalette, then of course it will be easier than chiffon :p
Hi Wendy
Can I replace corn oil with olive oil?
If I half the recipe, can I replace with 8" sq pan or 7" round pan or smaller than these?
Thank you
Lynn
Lynn,
If I were you, I won't use olive oil. The cake will smell like olive oil.
You can use canola, sunflower oil, if you prefer, but I won't go for olive oil.
You need a tube pan to make chiffon cake, if not your cake will collapse.
Hi Wendy. Try baking this again. Consider partly successful cos it is fluffy and nice lar. jus wondering is it normal if the cake rise up high (dome shape) until above the pan with some cracks then collapse after bake for 20+minutes before come out from the oven. If it didnt collapse the cake might be 'fluffier' gua.
Nicole,
Collaspe at 20 mins?
That's really early to collapse.
If you say it starts to shrink at 40 mins, then ok la. but 20 is way too early.
Did anyone open the door?
Wendy, forget to tell u I baked in a 18cm tube pan. I open at 20+ mins to check whether done. Will that cos it to collapse?
Nicole,
Yes, never open the door for chiffon cake. Not until it passes 40 minutes minimum. But I still won't open it until it's done.
But Wendy the top aredi so dark. So I tot it might aredi cook. I am wori the top might burnt also. And the cake is aredi done before 40minutes. Guess my oven no so good.
Hi wendy the cake too sweet for me, can i reduce the sugar? How much can i reduce so the cake texture wont change. Thank u.
June,
You can reduce up to 50gm on the yolk batter.
Hi Wendy, made this and it turned out awesome! I had used the all-purpose flour this time around but it only struck me much later if the flour in your recipe would have called for the cake flour instead. The one with the all-purpose flour was really great, so I was wondering if using the cake flour would have made a lot more differences to the texture in general.
p/s I am on my attempt to write on this at the moment. Will be linking that to your page the moment it gets done. And thanks for the many many photos of yours in the making. Those really helped a great deal!
Hi again Wendy,I'm back with the link.
http://lengskitchen.blogspot.com/2013/01/orange-chiffon-cake.html
Thank you once again!
Hi wendy, I tried baking using ur recipe n the cakes turn out good. I would like to clarify some points below:
1. For ur step 1, I just wonder whwther the sugars will dissolves totally if I just mix it using a hand whisk? What if I use electric hand whisk? Will it affect the texture of the cake? Will the cake less moist n spongy?
2. For the first time when i bake this cake, I used my Philips blender to blend the orange juice and I sieved my orange juice after that. The juice has got the thick texture. The color of the cake looks dull but the orange taste is very strong n fragrant. For the 2nd time, I used another blender that separated the flesh n juice so I got a very clear n watery orange juice. The color of the cake turns out very light lemon color which looks so lovely. However the orange taste is nt strong. It has very little orange taste. So I would like to know what type of fresh orange juice I should produce? Using which type of blender is better? I asked this question may sound silly but my cakes did taste differently based on different type of orange juice thickness.
Thanks for ur recipe n reply in advance.
vian,
Don't overmix the yolk batter. As long as smooth then stop. The sugar will melt as you leave it as you beat the whites.
Vian,
Oh yes, I always prefer Valencia for baking.
But if the orange calls for a whole boiled orange , I'll go for Navel
I fail terribly at beating egg whites. I used a hand mixer at speed 1 to beat the whites, and they start to turn crumbly jz after around 3 minutes of beating! How can this be :(
Miserable baker,
Speed 1? that's too low.
The frothing stage just takes a few seconds.
Instruction #4, says, beat at high speed after u add the cream of tartar. The highest on ur machine
But the whites turn dry and crumbly very fast, which i think is a sign of overbeating? How long should it usually take to beat the egg whites? Thanks a lot...
Miserable baker,
It depends on the machine and the speed u use, different machines have different speeds.
But usually it takes around 5 minutes to get a to a nice glossy meringue. Estimated, I don't really time it, but I look at it.
If you omitted cream of tartar, leaving it around will make it water down
Wendy,
Thanks for the advice. I hope I'll gather enough courage to try again soon.
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