Mika’s Lemon Cream Chiffon Cake

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Lemon Cream Chiffon Cake

I love this lemon cake!  It’s light and tart with a subtle sweetness… perfect after a heavy meal, or on a hot day.  I would say, on my scale of cake cravings, this one is a definite 9 out of 10 for me.    The lemon curd/whipped cream topping really makes this cake out of this world!

But what is it with my husband, that he cannot stand lemon in desserts?  Whenever I make lemon bars, or lemon cake, he makes this scrunched up face and says, “It’s sour!”   I think Chinese/Taiwanese people are just not accustomed to “tart” desserts.  Yet, you give the same piece of cake to someone with a more American/European palate… and the complaints turn into compliments!

One of the most important things with this cake is to follow proper chiffon cake procedure:

  • Whip the egg whites separately from the egg yolks.  Make sure there is not a trace of fat or egg yolk in the bowl, otherwise, the egg white foam will not whip up properly.
  • FOLD the egg whites into the rest of the batter.  Stir the first 1/3 of egg whites into the batter just to lighten it up.  With a rubber (or silicone) spatula, fold the second 1/3 in, very gently, to avoid deflating the foam.  Then repeat with the remaining egg white foam.  It is ok to have streaks of yellow and white in the batter – if you keep stirring to make an even colored batter, you will lose most of the air bubbles you need to leaven this cake.
  • Bake this cake in an ungreased tube pan.  Angel food cake pans with the removable bottoms work out the best.  Make sure you hang this cake upside-down while it’s cooling so that the cake does not collapse in on itself.

I used the juice and zest of 4 lemons to make this cake

LEMON CHIFFON CAKE:

  • 1 3/4 c. cake flour
  • 6 eggs, separated
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 3/4 c. + 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1/2 c. oil
  • 3/4 c. water
  • 1 tsp. lemon extract
  • zest of 1 lemon

Organic lemons are great for zesting as they are usually un-waxed

LEMON CURD:

  • zest of 3 lemons
  • 1/2 c. lemon juice
  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 1/4 c. butter, melted
  • 1/2 c. sugar

WHIPPED LEMON CREAM:

  • 1 c. heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 1 recipe lemon curd

CAKE:

1.  Beat egg whites until stiff with 3/4 c. sugar, salt, and cream of tartar.

2.  Beat egg yolks, 1/2 c. sugar, oil, water, lemon extract and zest.   Add the flour, combine.

4.  Fold egg whites into the batter, 1/3 at a time.  Do not over-mix to avoid deflating the egg white foam – the egg white foam will leaven this cake.  It is ok if there are still some “ribbons” of yellow and white in the final batter.

5.  Bake in an UNgreased angel food cake pan at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

6.  Immediately place the pan upside down on a wire rack, and cool for several hours.  Do not remove from the pan until 100% cool.

CURD:

1.  Beat eggs and sugar.  Mix in remaining ingredients.

2.  Microwave 1 minute, then whisk.  Then microwave 1 more minute, and whisk.  Microwave a final 30 seconds, whisk.

3.  Refrigerate to cool.

WHIPPED LEMON CREAM:

1.  Whip the heavy cream with the sugar.

2.  Fold the cold lemon curd into the whipped cream.  Cut the cake in half horizontally.

4.  Spoon about 1 c. of the whipped lemon cream over layer 1, and top with layer 2.  Spread the top and sides of the cake with the remaining whipped lemon cream.  Refrigerate several hours before serving.  Decorate with lemon slices if desired.


 

Comments

  1. Joyce says:

    Hi Mika, if I were to substitute the cake flour with all purpose flour and cornstarch, what would be the equivalent for 1 3/4 c. cake flour? Thanks!

    • Mika Mika says:

      Hi Joyce,
      I would probably substitute 1 1/2 c. flour + 1 T. flour + 3 T. cornstarch for the 1 3/4 c. flour.

  2. Maithao says:

    Hi Mika,
    when you say “flour” only,what kind of flour you mean? Thank you.

    • Mika Mika says:

      This recipe calls for “cake flour”. Cake flour is a low protein flour that makes finely textured cakes.

      If you do not have cake flour, you can use the substitution above, which calls for all-purpose flour + cornstarch. All purpose flour is higher in protein content, so you need to cut it with cornstarch in order to reduce the protein content.

  3. Maithao says:

    Thanks Mika.

  4. Amy says:

    Hi Mika,
    Can this be bake in a springform pan instead of a tube pan? For some reason all the chiffon cakes that I see always being bake in a tube pan. I’m thinking of baking this as a layer cake instead. Is it possible?

    • Mika Mika says:

      Probably? As long as you are able to hang your pan upside down, you probably can make this in a smaller diameter springform pan. The thing about the tube pan, is that the center tube gives the cake something to cling to when baking and cooling – which helps structure wise.

  5. Thuy says:

    Thanks so much for this delicious recipe. Is it possible for you to post a chocolate version of this?

    • Mika Mika says:

      I haven’t made this as a chocolate version yet… but if I were going to try to convert the recipe from lemon to chocolate, I would start by decreasing the flour to about 1 1/4 c. and then add 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder. Omit the lemon zest, and substitute the lemon extract for vanilla extract (and possibly substitute the water with brewed coffee). Then, use prepared chocolate pudding in the place of the lemon curd for the filling…. and maybe frost with plain whipped cream sprinkled/garnished with shaved chocolate.

      • Thuy says:

        Thanks for the chocolate version recipe. I just made it the other day in a spring form. It was so yummy even though i put more oil than I was supposed to and forgot it he Blake in the oven for an extra 15 minutes. You’re the best Baker :)

        • Mika Mika says:

          You’re welcome! Glad the chocolate substitution worked out for you!