Here’s a light, airy Chiffon Cake recipe — soft like sponge cake but rich like butter cake 🍰✨
🍰 Classic Vanilla Chiffon Cake
(One 10-inch tube pan — serves 10–12)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2¼ cups cake flour (or all-purpose sifted well)
- 1½ cups sugar (divided)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 7 large eggs, separated
- ¾ cup warm water
- ½ cup neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
👩🍳 Instructions
1️⃣ Preheat
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
- Do not grease the tube pan (this helps the cake rise).
2️⃣ Mix Yolks
- In a bowl, whisk egg yolks, oil, water, vanilla, and 1 cup of sugar.
- Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until smooth.
3️⃣ Whip Egg Whites
- In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar.
- When foamy, gradually add remaining ½ cup sugar.
- Beat to stiff peaks (but not dry).
4️⃣ Fold
- Gently fold egg whites into batter in 3 additions.
- Use slow, careful strokes to keep air in the batter.
5️⃣ Bake
- Pour into ungreased tube pan.
- Bake 50–60 minutes until top springs back when touched.
6️⃣ Cool Upside Down
- Immediately invert the pan (on bottle neck or pan legs).
- Cool completely before removing.
✨ Tips for Success
- Egg whites must be grease-free to whip properly.
- Do not overmix when folding.
- Cooling upside down prevents collapse.
🍓 Variations
- Add lemon zest for citrus chiffon.
- Replace water with orange juice.
- Fold in cocoa powder (¼ cup) for chocolate chiffon.
If you’d like, I can also give you a pandemic-style no-tube-pan chiffon method using regular cake pans.
