fruity chiffon cake

In the past, I avoided baking chiffon cakes as I was not certain about some of the steps in the preparatory process. For example, what does it mean to beat the egg whites till stiff peaks form?

I have since decided that "nothing ventured, nothing gained". I embarked on my first attempt to bake a chiffon cake and I was very encouraged by the results.

When the cake was removed from the oven and I inserted a toothpick near the middle of the cake, I could tell that the texture of the cake was light and soft. A smile came to my face. To think that I was daring enough to bake a fruity chiffon cake instead of a basic chiffon cake! The Lord is good to me. He made sure that the 1 hour or so that I spent from start to finish was not a wasted effort.

INGREDIENTS

70g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

3 egg yolks

20g castor sugar

40ml sunflower oil

40ml fruit juice

3 tbsp jam

3 egg whites

50g castor sugar (note: this is separate from the 20g castor sugar mentioned above)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius.

2. Sieve the plain flour, baking powder and ground cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites.

4. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Add 20g castor sugar. Using a manual whisk, whisk the mixture until it becomes pale and sticky.

5. Add the sunflower oil to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until well combined.

6. Add the fruit juice to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until well combined.

7. Add the jam to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until well combined.

8. Add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until the flour is fully incorporated into the batter.

9. In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until the mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Split 50g castor sugar into 3 portions and add a portion at a time to the egg white, each time whisking on high speed. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.

10. Add the beaten egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a wooden spatula until just blended.

11. Pour the batter into a 7" ungreased tube pan. Tap the pan lightly on the table top to remove any air bubbles that may be trapped in the batter.

12. Bake at 170 degrees celsius for 35 minutes or until the cake surface turns golden brown and a skewer inserted near the centre of the cake comes out clean.

13. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan immediately.

14. When the cake has cooled, unmould the cake by running a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the centre core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

TIPS

1. You can use any type of fruity jam and fruit juice but it would be ideal if the jam and the juice complement each other.

2. As I used blueberry jam, instead of adding 40ml fruit juice, I added 40ml of Ribena (ie. 15 ml Ribena diluted with 25 ml water). Alternatively, blueberry jam would complement cranberry juice.