Chiffon Cake
- Total Time
- 1 hour 5 minutes, plus at least 2 hours’ cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:One 10-inch cake (8 to 12 servings)
- ¾cup/140 grams superfine (caster) sugar
- 1tablespoon/10 grams potato starch
- 9large egg whites (325 grams)
- 1teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1¾cups/215 grams cake flour
- 2teaspoons double-acting baking powder
- ⅔cup/120 grams superfine (caster) sugar
- 7large egg yolks
- ½cup/110 grams sunflower oil (or other neutral-tasting oil)
- Grated zest of 4 large mandarin oranges (about 2 tablespoons)
- ¾cup/170 grams fresh mandarin orange juice (see Tip)
- 1tablespoon/10 grams fresh lime or lemon juice
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½teaspoon fine salt
For the Meringue
For the Cake Batter
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
346 calories; 14 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 47 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 28 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 250 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Arrange one oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Step 2
Have ready a 10-inch ungreased, unlined chiffon cake pan (a 2-piece tube pan).
- Step 3
Make the meringue: Mix sugar with potato starch. In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric stand or hand mixer on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to high, until the foam starts to pile up in floppy mounds. Gradually add sugar mixture while beating constantly, then beat until meringue is slightly glossy and stiff peaks just start to form. When you lift the whisk quickly and vertically out of the meringue, it should leave behind a pointed peak which curls over just slightly at the tip. Set meringue aside briefly while you proceed.
- Step 4
Prepare the cake batter: Sift cake flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and whisk very well to thoroughly combine everything. Set aside.
- Step 5
Whisk egg yolks, oil, orange zest and juice, lime juice, vanilla and salt together in another bowl until well blended. Scrape this mixture into the flour mixture and whisk gently just until batter is smooth.
- Step 6
Briefly re-beat meringue for 10 seconds or so to redistribute any moisture which may have settled out. Add one-third of meringue to the cake batter and fold gently until almost blended. Add half of the remaining meringue to the batter and fold in likewise. Lastly, scrape the batter into the meringue mixing bowl and fold it into the remaining meringue until incorporated.
- Step 7
Pour finished mixture gently into the pan. Bake on a low oven rack for 55 to 65 minutes. When the cake is done, a cake tester inserted into it midway between the pan side and the central tube will emerge damp but clean, with no gooey batter clinging to it.
- Step 8
Remove the cake from the oven and immediately turn it upside down. Stand it on the cake pan’s feet, or, if the pan has no feet or if the cake has risen higher than the feet, balance the central column on a narrow jar or bottle neck. Let cake cool completely.
- Step 9
To unmold, turn cake right side up, then run a long, thin, sharp knife around the cake’s edge and around the central tube. Lift tube and pan base insert out of the pan, and the cake with it. Run the knife around the base of the cake to free it from the insert, then invert it onto a serving plate and remove the insert. Slice cake with a very sharp plain or serrated knife to serve. Once fully cool, the cake can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 5 to 6 days. Well-wrapped individual slices can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Tip
- Use only freshly-squeezed orange juice for this cake. Canned or bottled juice does not have the same freshness of flavor, and may be too acidic, which affects the cake’s texture. Mandarin orange juice and zest make this cake especially aromatic. You can use a combination of regular juice oranges and mandarin oranges.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Jon
Why is the meringue made before blending the other ingredients, and then re-beaten? Is there a reason not to mix the other ingredients first, and then beat the meringue and fold in?
Lee
The pan must be plain, not non-stick, and not greased, because the batter needs something to cling to as it rises. And re the order of mixing—baking powder begins to work when it gets wet, so you don’t want that sitting around very long. I would probably get the dry and wet ingredients mixed, then do merengue, then combine the wet and dry, then incorporate the merengue.
Mary Wilson
The Betty Crocker version was my mom’s specialty. She’ll be 100 next week and I’ll bake this for her. Thanks for the memory.
Cate
Meringue will not deflate if egg whites are beat properly. 1) 68°F (20°C) egg whites; 2) on med low until just foamy, but translucent about 1 minute; 3) add cream of tartar, then beat on med low until volume increases and eggs are white and creamy; 4) GRADUALLY add sugar while beating—do not dump it in at once; 5) after sugar is added, increase mixer speed to med high and beat to desired peak level. It has to do with stabilizing ionic bonds and preventing disulfide bonds.
Marie
Bob's Red Mill has potato starch in 22 oz bags. You can also find it in the kosher section or world foods section at the grocery. My mom used cornstarch in her chiffon cakes. Substitutes for Potato Starch: Cornstarch: Use one tablespoon of cornstarch for every one tablespoon of potato starch. Tapioca Starch: Use two tablespoons of tapioca starch for every one tablespoon of potato starch. Arrowroot Powder: Use one tablespoon of arrowroot powder for every one tablespoon of potato starch.
Deb
Potato starch is often sold as potato flour. In addition to Bob’s Red Mill, sold in stores and online, you can often find it in a Kosher or Jewish products aisle of a grocery store.
Neil
How would you make this lemon instead of orange since tip notes acidity can be a problem?
Eleanor
This looks wonderful! About 35 years ago, our local fair held a chocolate cake contest sponsored by Hershey. There were many traditional layer cakes, but I made a chocolate chiffon, with a billowy chocolate frosting and took home first prize. i like the chiffon because, besides being a slice of heaven, it utilizes both the yolks and the whites. Thanks for this recipe. Can't wait to try.
Caroline M.
If you want lemon, try using Meyer lemons.
Sam
Joy of Baking made a similar cake to this one. It’s a good tutorial to help make this recipe. https://youtu.be/sK5-uTBw6kc
Jo/Ohio
This cake resembles the lemon scented sponge cake my mother and grandmother made. They used a dozen eggs. My mother made a wine nut version. Five years before she passed at ninety-five, she showed me how to make my favorite passover version of this cake. She mixed the yolks, sugar and wine, added dry ingredients and nuts, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks formed and folded the yolk into the mixture and baked. Always a winner and in my opinion tastier than the lemon one.
Heather
Great sounding recipe. I have only made a Passover version chiffon cake so look forward to making this one. To Deb, potato starch has very different properties to potato flour & they are not interchangeable.
Mo
You can buy it in the baking isle at any store around me. Look where the Bob's Red Mill products are and you should find it there.
cat
Per a commenter's note below: potato FLOUR and potato STARCH are two entirely different products. Never substitute one for the other. Potato FLOUR is quite heavy and not the same lightening agent as potato STARCH, and will in fact have the opposite effect. Potato FLOUR might be added to a recipe to add moisture, especially if baking gluten free, but only a very very small quantity. Potato STARCH, as the recipe states, is quite light and starchy, tolighten baked gods and give stability.
MPL
How does e come by potato starch? Is there a substitution?
Andrea in Seattle
This was my first chiffon cake. Served with orange infused whipped cream and micro-planed scharfenberger chocolate. All but one piece was devoured by my guests and that one piece we decided to take immediately by car to our friend’s who had just begun chemotherapy treatment. Life can be tough but there is still cake — and at times like these there is this chiffon cake. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Stephanie
Not sure why this recipe only averages 4 stars, it deserves 5! The texture is amazing! So much better than any traditional cake recipe containing butter that I've tried (I know, these are different, but I much prefer this!) The 2nd time I made a lemon version and gave it more of a layer-cake treatment, slicing it in half and adding lemon curd, whipped cream and macerated strawberry slices, then decorating the top with piped whipped cream and whole strawberries. My new cake go-to recipe!
Judith Freeman
Spectacular cake! Light as air. Loved it with a lemon/lime powdered sugar glaze and raspberry/strawberry coulis. Heavenly!
Dana
It was done in 35 minutes.
Art
Did not have cake flour but I had King Arthur 1:1 gluten free so I used that and the result was fantastic! Otherwise prepared as written. I also made an icing of OJ and powdered sugar to dribble over the time. 1 cup powdered sugar and slowly add OJ while stirring to until you have a thick but barely pourable paste.
Kathleen G
Perfect dessert for any occasion. It's simple and elegant. I couldn't get the chiffon cake pan in time for our Christmas dinner so went with a regular springform pan. Definitely was not optimal but the cake was still delicious. So delicious that my son-in-law asked if he could keep the leftover! He was the host so of course we said - yes! This will be my go to dessert!
Julia Morris
Today I made recipe exactly as written and used an old and reliable tube pan that's made many an angel food cake successfully. Cake cooked 60 mins and skewer came out dry. Nevertheless, while cooling on its bottle after 30 minutes the cake fell out. Bottom and sides had a light crust still adhering. The fallen cake was light and properly dry...not undercooked. Any thoughts as to why this happened? BTW, the cake was absolutely delicious. sliced and cooled it on wire rack to preserve fluffiness
Krzysztof Krakowiak
What do you serve it with? Just plain?
Kathleen G
We served it with a little bit of vanilla ice cream - but it could also be served alone. The orange flavors and texture are delicious!
Eugenia
I usually beat the egg yolks with sugar till they turn into nice foam when I make this type of cake. It increases the fluffiness of the cake even more I think.
Marja M.
Here is my Finnish grandmother's (and my Spanish mother-in law's, too!) advice so that the meringue does not start to fall in its bowl / water before use. You have to put another bowl / kettle, pot etc. of equal height on top upside down. In this way it's not so bad to make the meringue first. And I think I have already read this also in Julia Child's cookbook.
ayse
I had to halve the recipe because I didn't have enough eggs. I made it with 5 egg whites and 4 yolks. I followed the recipe exactly - and I have to admit it's a bit fussy but I thought it was worth it. It turned out so good! I usually make sponge cake but this cake held its shape better than a sponge and even more moist. It was like eating a pillow or a cloud. Would definitely make again. Next time I'll make the full recipe.
Cindy
Anyone try baking this at altitude? I image my normal adjustments might not work given how delicate this sounds. Thx!
Catherine
this is so wonderful. my mom made this cake my whole life. she called this her "sponge cake". not sure where she ever got the recipe..but loved the cake. she passed away two years ago at 80. she was adamant about how important to "beat the eggs" properly! she loved the lemon flavor in her recipe. thx for memories
Carol Pfefferkorn
Sorry to disappoint. But my mother and grandmother made this cake many times during my childhood (1940s and 50s), right down the potato starch, meringue, etc.
Laura M
Why would this news be disappointing? It's well known that the recipe was popular during that time frame.
Ellen Romanow
Delicious recipe. I didn't have a pan with a removable bottom so I lined the bottom with parchment and the cake rose properly and came out of the pan easily. I wanted to use gluten free flour so I created a self-rising version by making 2 cups of flour because it was easier mathwise (220 grams of flour and 32 grams of cornstarch, sifted twice and re-measured to have 1-3/4 cups needed for the recipe) and it came out perfectly. Will definitely make again.
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