Orange Chiffon Cake

By mz0926

From Cook's Country

August/September 2010
Why this recipe works:
The original recipe for Orange Chiffon Cake insisted that we beat the egg whites to very stiff peaks, but this led to pockets of cooked egg whites in the cake. We found eggs beaten to soft peaks and fortified with extra cream of tartar and sugar worked much better. Rather than wasting several egg yolks with each cake, we found we could use an equal number of whites and yolks as long as we cut back on the flour and reduced the amount of baking powder.

Ingredients

• 10 10 to12
• IngredientsBATTER5 large eggs, separated (see note)
• 1 1 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/4 1 1/4 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/3 cups plain cake flour
• 2 2 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 3/4 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• GLAZE3 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 2 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions
1. WHIP WHITES Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. With electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar on medium- high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. With mixer running, slowly add 2 tablespoons sugar and whip until just stiff and glossy, about 1 minute; set aside.


2. FINISH BATTER Combine flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Whisk orange juice, oil, egg yolks, vanilla, and zest in medium bowl until smooth. Whisk wet mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Whisk one-third whipped egg whites into batter, then gently fold in remaining whites, 1 scoop at a time, until well combined. Scrape mixture into 16-cup ungreased tube pan.


3. BAKE CAKE Bake until tooth- pick inserted into center comes out clean and cracks in cake appear dry, 55 to 65 minutes. Cool, inverted, to room temperature, about 3 hours. To unmold, follow photos below.


4. MAKE GLAZE Whisk orange juice, cream cheese, and zest in medium bowl until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and whisk until smooth. Pour glaze over cooled cake. Let glaze set 15 minutes. Serve.



Don't Make This Mistake: Feeling Peaked?


Many recipes for chiffon cake, including the original, call for egg whites beaten to “very stiff” peaks. In test after test, we found that very stiff whites are impossible to incorporate into the batter. Instead, we beat the whites to slightly softer peaks and then give them added support with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar.


Let Me Outta Here!


Chiffon cake is baked in an ungreased pan. Why? The stiffly beaten egg whites need to cling to the pan to rise. If the pan were greased, they couldn’t. Chiffon cake is cooled in its pan upside down while suspended in the air. (If you “de-panned” the hot cake, it would collapse under its own weight.) Once the cake is cool, pry it out with care. Here’s how:


1. When the cake is cool, turn the pan right side up and run a flexible knife around the tube and outer edge.



2. Use the tube to pull the cake out of the pan and set it on an inverted baking pan. Cut the bottom free.



3. Now invert the cake onto a serving plate and gently twist the tube to remove.



The Genesis of Chiffon Cake: What Harry Baker Begat


For his "cake discovery of the century," Baker sought to combine the height and fluffiness of angel food cake with the richness of pound cake. He borrowed techniques and ingredients from each for chiffon cake.