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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Chiffon Cake

So as you know Saturday was Lieshia's bridal shower and my darling daughter was supposed to bring the cake. Remember when your kids were little, like 3rd grade and they'd tell you, as they were getting into their pajamas, Oh yeah and Mom I'm supposed to bring treats for 25 tomorrow....
Anyways, I found a recipe for a pretty looking Chiffon cake in the issue of Cook's Country that had arrived in the mail recently. Easy enough for me with tips too!
Uh Oh! Something tells me I should have whipped those egg whites a little firmer..but in my defense, the tips directly pointed out that you didn't want to make the egg whites too stiff because then they won't blend in well!!!
Oh it's fine! Looks pretty good on the fancy cake plate too! You remember the cake plate from here.
So since I was going to Mom's on Saturday, I left it up to my darling Daughter to frost it with whipped cream right before she went to the shower on Saturday. 
Well lookie there-looks good Girlie!! Not sure about that whipped cream on the center, but what the heck!! At least you didn't make butter!
Here's the recipe.

Chiffon Cake from Cook's Country Magazine
Serves 10 to 12
Separate the eggs when they’re cold; it’s easier. You will need a tube pan with a removable bottom for this recipe. Our favorite, the Chicago Metallic Professional Nonstick Angel Food Cake Pan, has both a removable bottom and “feet” to support the pan while the cake cools. If your pan is footless, invert the cake onto the neck of a wine bottle to cool.
Ingredients
  • 5 large eggs, separated (see note)
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/3 cups plain cake flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
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 water, oil, egg yolks, and vanilla 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. 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.

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.
    Love the cook's country magazine.  All the recipe information and recipe photos are from Cook's Country.


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