Orange Chiffon Cake 香橙雪芳蛋糕

Chiffon cake is one of the many things that I have come to fully appreciate only years and years later growing up. As a kid, I loved and would only choose to fall in love with those really creamy and buttery cakes, and I especially liked those laden with my personal all-time favorite - the chocolate sprinkles! Chiffon cakes? Despite the fact that they are a common sight back at our home considering both my parents are big fans of these light and real fluffy desserts, I would usually give those a pass - thanks, but no thanks really lol. But at the years went by, things slowly did take an opposite turn in plenty different occasions in life. A change in the personal taste preference is definitely one of the many. For one, I started appreciating the light texture this cake has, and I eventually found myself getting awed with how rich in flavor they can be packed with and it was when you started to truly savor them would you be appreciative with especially the cottony soft and yet totally moist texture good chiffon cakes always have.

When I developed the slightest interest that get me started in baking, chiffon cake was one of the few items that I had my eyes and heart on. Ambitious? Oh I surely was! lol. Despite it being a widely discussed and commonly agreed statement that the making of one often comes rather challenging, I went ahead and tried making one anyway. And that was a real disaster! lol. Not having the slightest idea as to what went wrong - it could be anything really, I dropped that idea for a long long while. Using a different recipe from the previous first try of mine, this will be my second attempt at making a chiffon cake. This recipe is one adapted from the recipe by Wendy at Table For 2....or More. Reading through her post on her Orange Chiffon Cake was a pure enjoyment. Inspired I sure was, and soon the idea of making one did not seem that intimidating anymore.  

This time around, this orange chiffon cake of mine turned out just so perfectly. The original recipe called for the flour in general, a very minor question unanswered that I have in me still. Returning to Wendy's page after my whole baking episode and reading further on plenty of her other chiffon cake collection, it was then when I noted that the recipe could have actually called for the cake flour instead of the all-purpose flour that I had used here. Utterly glad that this had nevertheless come out awesome and turned out to be such a pleasant experience with a great satisfaction, this all-purpose flour version of the chiffon cake will be one for my personal keeping, that's for sure. But the next time I should see myself at this again, I'll be sure to have that switched to the cake flour for a try and anticipate any of the many possible unknowns then.

Orange Chiffon Cake 香橙雪芳蛋糕 
Adapted from Table For 2....or More
Makes 1 orange chiffon cake with a 9½" (diameter) x 4½" (depth) tube pan


(A)
115ml fresh orange juice
4 egg yolks (large sized eggs)
75ml canola oil
100g granulated sugar
150g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp orange zest

(A) sugar, yolks, orange zest, orange juice
and canola oil (flours not shown)

(B)
4 egg whites
90g granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

(B) sugar, whites and cream of tartar

1. To zest an orange, you can use a zester, a grater or a peeler simply. I made mine using a peeler. Applying just a very light pressure, try to peel the outermost later of the orange, avoiding best the bitter pith within. When you have gathered enough peelings, chop them up finely using a knife and set aside. 

 2. Combine orange juice, egg yolks, oil and sugar from (A) in a mixing bowl. Mix well with a whisk.
 3. Sift together the all-purpose flour with the baking powder. Add them into the mixing bowl and combine well.

 4. Add in the orange zest. Stir well and set the mixing bowl aside.

5. In another clean and dry mixing bowl, add in the egg whites from (B) and beat on low speed until they get frothy.
6. Add in the cream of tartar next. Beat at high speed until a soft peak forms.

7. Add in the sugar in 3 small batches, mixing well after each addition. Continue beating until a stiff peak is obtained. You may have to do this gradually and check at regular intervals to reduce the chance of overdoing it. I have mine checked about every 10 seconds of beating. It is ready when the peaks are stiff and pointy. A point worth noting from Wendy's page - the peaks should be looking fat in appearance rather than appearing short and thin. If they appeared to be short and thin, they may have been overdone and your cake may be at a chance of falling off the pan when inverted to cool down out of the oven later.

8. Transfer 1/4 portion of this egg white mixture into the first mixing bowl set aside in (4). Fold the eggs white into the batter until thoroughly incorporated. Make sure that the folding process is thorough not leaving any unmixed, especially those are the bottom of the mixing bowl.
9. Add in another 1/4 portion of the egg white and again fold to mix well.
10. Transfer the contents from the first mixing bowl into the bowl with the remaining egg white mixture and continue folding until well mixed.

11. Pour the whole mixture into an ungreased clean tube pan. Lightly shake the pan sideways to level the batter within. 

12. Bake in the oven preheated at 340°F  for 40 minutes.
13. Once done, remove the pan from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let rest on a cooling rack to make sure that no steam is trapped within. Let cool completely on the rack.
14. When cooled enough, slide a butter knife gently around the inner edges of the pan to release the cake. Similarly, slide the knife around the base of the pan to completely remove it. 

15. Transfer the cake to a serving plate. Divide into individual portions using a sharp serrated knife. Serve. 

p/s This post was supposed to be published late last night but one single button and an auto-save lost me the 99% done file. Devastated, I stopped and decided to drop it at least for the day. A couple of hours later right into the middle of the night, my savior came announcing that he had somewhat managed to retrieve the file. Imperfect it may be after having gone through all the decoding processes, meaning I may have to rearrange and lay the whole post out all over again, but with especially the texts that he had managed to pull back from who knows where, it sure didn’t take me not even half as close to the time he had spent burning the midnight oil working on this. So many many thanks to my beloved hubby, my savior for ending this very misery of mine.