Lemon Chiffon Cake
I first tried baking lemon chiffon and posted about it in July 2016:
The last 2 times I tried lemon chiffon, my cakes collapsed terribly and ended up looking like cheesecake.
But I decided to try lemon chiffon cake again after learning the technique from Charlene (founder of customized cake shop Cakequembouche), since Mum and Heon Jin like lemon cakes and I haven't baked in a while since taking a 2-week vacation in New Zealand!
I love chiffon cakes because of how light and fluffy they are, and how they don't have butter (don't get me wrong - I love butter and how they make everything taste better, but the lack of butter in chiffon lessens my guilt significantly when I eat loads of it).
Look at how high it rose! I loved the height. No baking powder was used, so it must have been the 6 eggs I used for the meringue.
Most tasters said it was dry and many preferred a stronger lemon flavour. I'll reduce the amount of flour and increase the amount of lemon juice and zest next time!
I'll update this recipe again once I perfect it!
** UPDATE as of 25 March 2017**
I've done another lemon chiffon with much better results :)
Mum said the sweetness is just right for her. Colleagues and friends said it's very moist, with a springy texture. Some found it too sour (not surprising - lots of lemon juice here with a stronger lemon taste from 2 lemons!) A very discerning friend who bakes as well strongly suggested against using lemon extract - she was the only one who could tell I used it. I'll heed her advice for my next try!
Recipe adapted from The Baking Biatch for a 18cm tube pan
Ingredients:
Egg Yolk mixture -
5 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
60g corn oil
100g water
70g lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp lemon extract (I used this but I'd suggest to exclude it for future tries because it's too artificial!)
Lemon zest from 2 lemons
110g cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
Egg White mixture -
5 egg whites
70g caster sugar
Pinch of cream of tartar
Method (same as Orange Chiffon):
1. Beat egg yolks and caster sugar on high with an electric mixer until thick, pale yellow, creamy. A whisk is usually not fast enough or intense enough unless you have superhuman arm strength. You want to see thick creamy ribbons when you lift the arms of the mixer up high. Don't worry about overbeating this mixture.
2. Whisk oil, zest, juice, and vanilla bean paste together well. Add it to your egg yolk+sugar mixture above and whisk till incorporated.
3. Sift cake flour and baking powder into your wet mixture. The sifting is IMPORTANT. You don't want lumps to form in your batter. Do your sifting slowly and steadily, while constantly using the whisk to mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Keep your batter as smooth as possible. When the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, set aside.
At this point you can preheat the oven to 160C. I normally don't preheat my oven at the beginning since the prep time takes so long, I'd just be wasting electricity heating the oven for so long.
4. For the meringue, the mixer's arms have to be grease-free and completely clean. If you only have one electric mixer, this means you have to wash them thoroughly after preparing your egg yolk mixture. Use hot water to remove any traces of grease in your bowl and beater.
5. Once that's done, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high until foamy with your electric mixer. Then add the caster sugar slowly until stiff peaks form. Careful not to overbeat the meringue.
6. Fold 1/3 of your egg white meringue into the egg yolk mixture to lighten the egg yolk mixture. Using a whisk to mix at this stage is fine too.
7. Fold in the remaining egg white meringue into your egg yolk mixture. You can choose to fold using a spatula or mix using a whisk. Most recipes ask for folding instead of whisking so that enough air remains in the mixture, but I've learnt from my cakemaster Charlene that it doesn't seem to matter. I prefer a whisk because that way I can make sure no lumps of meringue are left in the batter.
8. Pour batter into an ungreased 18cm tube pan and bake for approximately 50-55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Watch the cake! You don't want to overbake it (it deflates in the oven in that case).
9. Immediately invert pan to cool the cake upside down after removing from the oven. When cooled, use a knife or angled spatula to remove the cake from the pan.
10. (Optional) You can also put aside a portion of lemon zest and meringue (mixed together) and spread this over the top of the cake when serving. Or do a lemon curd between cake layers.
