Vanilla Chiffon Cake

How to make the vanilla chiffon cake recipe, this delicious light and fluffy cake with an airy texture like a mousse. This recipe is easy to make and moreover I give you my advice to succeed every time!

This is a perfect dessert for any occasion, with just some icing sugar sprinkled on top, served with homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit like strawberries and raspberries.

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Jump to:

• What is a chiffon cake?
• More Sponge Cakes
• Is chiffon cake the same as Angel Food Cake?
• 5 Tips to Make It Successful
• How to make the vanilla Chiffon Cake
• How to serve this cake
• Storage and freeze
• Frequently asked questions
• More sponge recipes
• Vanilla Chiffon Cake

What is a chiffon cake?

Of all the soft sponge recipes, the chiffon cakes recipe is certainly the best! Impossible to resist this vanilla chiffon cake that has a texture light and fluffy texture.

Chiffon cake is a tall cake recipe with a texture so airy like a mousse and so light. This cake is halfway between the sponge cake recipe and the Angel food cake, much lighter and softer with a more flavorful taste.

The chiffon cake is so delicious and fluffy that you could eat it by itself, but it is even better served as a dessert for special occasions such as a birthday or Mother's Day.

This vanilla chiffon cake goes well with many fillings and is perfect as a layer cake like in my Strawberry whipped cream cake recipe. But we like to eat it simply with a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar and fresh seasonal fruit.

More Sponge Cakes

Is chiffon cake the same as Angel Food Cake?

The vanilla chiffon cake is made with the same ingredients as the Angel food Cake, but compared to the latter which leaves us with a lot of egg yolks, this sponge cake recipe uses whole eggs.

The egg whites and the egg yolks are separated, and we keep the same principle by whipping the egg whites to find this airy texture and the addition of the egg yolks offers then a richer and more tasty texture to the chiffon cake, and above all, you will not have any rest.

The additional ingredient in this cake is the fat, we use vegetable oil in the chiffon cake which moistens it much more than in the cake recipes made with butter.

It is also baked in a tube pan, the same style of mold used to make the Kougloff recipe but with a removable bottom. This non stick type of mold has three tiny feet that allow the cake to cool upside down to prevent it from collapsing and keep its height.

The vanilla chiffon cake is served as a dessert with just a little powdered sugar, whipped cream and red fruits, but you can also make fabulous layer cake desserts with more gourmet fillings.

5 Tips to Make It Successful

This vanilla chiffon cake recipe, just like the angel food cake, is a very delicate cake and the preparation method must be followed precisely to succeed. Here are a few tips that will be useful to you to succeed this recipe.

1. Use room temperature eggs - this is the key to many successful recipes and also here to get a smooth mixture.
2. Whip the egg whites gradually - don't rush to whip the egg whites because they may fall off as quickly. To get stiff whites, start at a slow to medium speed and work up gradually to get stiff whites that don't fall apart during cooking.
3. Fold in the egg whites in several batches - at least twice, a small amount first to loosen the mixture and then with a spatula, gently to retain as much of the air in the egg whites as possible.
4. Do not grease your pan - definitely not! Preferably use tube pan or with a removable bottom and without non stick sides. The dough must cling to the pan to develop properly and not fall out.
5. Let the cake cool completely upside down - The tube pan have small feet to let it cool without collapsing.

How to make the vanilla Chiffon Cake

1 - Stiff the dry ingredients

1. Start by mixing together the dry ingredients, cake flour sugar baking powder, and salt.
2. Then sift them together at least twice to get a homogeneous mixture.
3. Then place the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2 - Add the egg yolk mixture

1. Add the egg yolks previously beaten with the vanilla extract, vegetable oil and water.
2. Mix with a hand whisk for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and well combined.

Tip: it is not necessary to use an electric mixer, we just try to mix the ingredients together to obtain a homogeneous mixture.

3 - Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks

1. Place the egg whites in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large mixing bowl with the electric hand mixer.
2. Beat the egg whites on medium speed for about 3 to 4 minutes until you have a foamy mixture with air bubbles.
3. Add cream of tartar and increase high speed for about 5 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Tip: You can replace the cream of tartar with the same amount of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar.

4 - Gently fold in the egg whites

1. Start by adding ¼ of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and mix quickly with a soft spatula to loosen the batter.
2. Then pour in the remaining egg whites and fold in gently, using circular motions from the inside to the outside, until you have a lump-free and fluffy texture.

Tip: Be careful not to overmix the cake batter, or the whites may fall out.

5 - Baking

1. Preheat oven to 325°F / 165°C and prepare your nonstick tube pan, which should not be greased or lined.
2. Gently pour the cake batter into the tube pan to avoid trapping air in it (run a knife through the batter to make sure there are no air bubbles)
3. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes until golden brown on top.
4. Check for baking with a knife blade or with a toothpick inserted into the center until it comes out clean and without any traces of wet batter.
5. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately invert the cake onto your work surface and let cool the cake upside down.
6. When cool, run a sharp, toothless knife around the outer and inner edges to loosen them.
7. Unmold the removable bottom of the tube pan to release the cake and run the knife again to loosen the bottom.
8. Place the vanilla chiffon cake on a plate and sprinkle some icing sugar on top and serve with fresh fruits.

Tip: Use a serrated knife to cut your chiffon cake into slices more easily.

How to serve this cake

The chiffon cake recipe is delicious served as a dessert with a little whipped cream and fresh fruit, but you can also cut it into layers like a layer cake and fill it inside and cover it with icing.

Here are some ideas for fillings and glazes:

• Chocolate ganache
• Red fruit coulis
• Chocolate mascarpone frosting
• Vanilla mascarpone frosting
• Fresh fruits like strawberries, raspberries, berries...

Storage and freeze

At room temperature: Store chiffon cake can be stored up to 5 days at room temperature. Wrap it in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container box to keep it fresh and prevent it from drying out.

In the freezer: Place in a storage box or wrap in cling film to keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Frequently asked questions

More sponge recipes

• Chocolate sponge cake
• Cookie butter biscoff cake
• Buttermilk chocolate cake

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