Chiffon Cakes

Since my last post I realized that the subject of cakes was too big to just devote to one week's discussion and then a couple of recipes. I will therefore expand to at least several weeks.

Most everyone is familiar with the basic chocolate, white, and yellow cakes and their variations, whether homemade or (gasp!) box mix. I, therefore, will not devote blog space to them other than to say that any of those can be made into the smaller version, cupcakes. I would like to get into, rather, the less familiar but more interesting varieties of cakes. This week I will start with Chiffon Cakes

Chiffon cakes, like their "cousins" Angel Food cakes and Sponge Cakes, are delicate and tender. Although they can be basic like an angel cake, they also can be elaborate works of art depending upon the choice of cake and recipe. Now, I know what a chiffon cake tastes like and looks like, but I wanted to more about the subject before I share it with you so I researched it on Wikipedia. (I am more of an expert in the area of pies, quick breads, etc. than I am on cakes). What I learned was really interesting. It turns out that the chiffon cake was invented by an insurance salesman, who also ran a catering business, in 1927. He later turned around and sold the recipe to a famous company, who proclaimed it to be the "cake discovery of the century."!

As to what makes a chiffon cake a chiffon cake is how it is made and, of course, its ingredients. Instead of butter, oil is used. Eggs are also part of the recipe. The light texture of the cake is created by beating egg whites until stiff (use your highest setting of the mixture to achieve this) and folding them in the cake batter before baking. Due to the high oil /egg content you should end up with a moist cake, one that does not harden or dry out as fast as a "traditional" cake.

A couple of tips when making Chiffon cakes:

• Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
• Be sure to add the cooking oil to the flour mixture first, then add the egg yolks. Otherwise, egg yolks will combine with the flour and form streaks.

Other than that, the key to a successful Chiffon cake is to follow the recipe.


My next post (most likely tomorrow morning) will be a recipe for Chiffon Cake.