Soft and fluffy chiffon cake made with silken tofu (extra soft tofu) has a nice mild aroma of soy beans and the cake is just lightly sweetened.
The possibility of flavors and ingredients you can add to make all different varieties of chiffon cakes are what really keep me going back to bake more and more chiffon cakes LOL! I love thinking about all the possibilities here! This tofu chiffon cake has been on my to-bake list for a while now. I’ve baked this several times but wasn’t very happy with the result until this last batch. The chiffon cake is absolutely soft, fluffy, springy, with that faint aroma of soy beans that I find quite pleasant. So if you ever wonder what to do with silken soft tofu? give this one a try!
What kind of tofu to use
This recipe uses silken soft tofu, which is the softest tofu and I recommend using this. In the U.S., the tofu comes in extra firm, firm, medium firm, soft, and silken tofu. You can probably get away with soft tofu, which is slightly firmer compare to silken tofu. I won’t recommend using anything firmer than that.
How to make tofu chiffon cake
1. Preheat oven to 330 F (165 C). My oven is a conventional oven with bottom heat only, no fan. Place the oven rack 3rd from the top. If you have a convection oven, I suggest lowering the temperature by 25 F (15 C)
2. Pour out the liquid from the tofu
3. Put the tofu in a blender and puree until smooth
4. Whisk the egg yolks, tofu, sugar, cooking oil, and vanilla extract
5. Sift in the cake flour and salt into the batter
6. Whisk in a zig zag motion to mix into a smooth batter. The batter will be thick but flowy
7. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy, add cream of tartar or lemon juice/vinegar and whip until it turns whitish. Gradually add the sugar as you beat, in 3 batches. I beat them at medium speed (speed 6 on Kitchen Aid) until you reach a stiff peak but still have a slight bent on the tip. I recommend stopping several times to check on the consistency. When you lift up the whisk, it should hold its shape firmly but has a slight bent on the tip. Stop once you reach this stiff peak. If you beat until the meringue clumps in one big lump to the whisk, you know you’ve gone too far beating the meringue
8. Gently fold 1/3 of the meringue into the thick batter. Using a whisk, using a cutting motion and fold over to mix. Repeat this motion several rounds
9. Continue on with the second 1/3 of the meringue again to mix
10. For the last 1/3 of the meringue, use a rubber spatula instead to ensure you get all the batter at the bottom of the bowl mixed in as well. Use a cut down in the middle and fold over motion to fold gently but quickly. Make sure you don’t see any more white meringue
11. The mixture should be fluffy and voluminous
12. Pour the batter into an UNGREASED chiffon cake pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the surface. Gently drop the cake pan from about 10 cm height on the counter 2-3 times. Use a skewer to draw a zig zag to pop bubbles inside the cake batter.
13. Pop into the oven and let it bake at 330 F for 50 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a cake tester. If it comes out clean and the top is springy and dry to touch, you can remove it from the oven. If not, reduce the heat to 300 F (150 C) and bake for another 10-15 minutes. The time is just for reference
14. Once out of the oven, drop the cake pan from about 10 cm height on the counter several times to prevent shrinkage. Then carefully invert the pan upside down immediately
15. Once it’s cool down completely, use a spatula knife to run through the edge and the outer center of the tube to help release the cake. Gently push the base to lift the cake out. Use the knife again to run through the base of the pan and then carefully release the cake
Did you make this Tofu Chiffon Cake recipe?
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Soft and Fluffy Tofu Chiffon Cake
Ingredients
Yolk batter:
- 150 gr silken soft tofu
- 3 egg yolks (room temperature) from 60-62 grams egg with the shell
- 15 gr granulated sugar
- 25 gr cooking oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 gr cake flour
- ⅛ tsp salt
Meringue:
- 3 egg whites (room temperature) from 60-62 grams egg with the shell
- 50 gr granulated sugar
- ½ tsp vinegar or lemon juice
Instructions
- Make sure your chiffon cake pan does not have a non-stick coating or your cake will not rise. The cake needs to cling to the side of the pan to rise tall
- Preheat oven to 330 F (165 C). My oven is a conventional oven with bottom heat only, no fan. Place the oven rack 3rd from the top. If you have a convection oven, I suggest lowering the temperature by 25 F (15 C)
Prepare the yolk batter:
- Separate the yolks from the whites while they are still cold. They are easier to separate. Then let them come to room temperature
- Pour out the liquid from the tofu. Put the tofu in a blender and puree until smooth
- Whisk the egg yolks, tofu, sugar, cooking oil, and vanilla extract. Sift in the cake flour and salt into the batter. Whisk in a zig zag motion to mix into a smooth batter. Set aside
Prepare the meringue:
- Place the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl. I use a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. You will have trouble whipping your meringue if there's a trace of grease in your utensils or bowls
- Beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy, add cream of tartar or lemon juice/vinegar and whip until it turns whitish. Gradually add the sugar as you beat, in 3 batches. I beat them at medium speed (speed 6 on Kitchen Aid) until you reach a stiff peak but still have a slight bent on the tip. I recommend stopping several times to check on the consistency. When you lift up the whisk, it should hold its shape firmly but has a slight bent on the tip. Stop once you reach this stiff peak. If you beat until the meringue clumps in one big lump to the whisk, you know you've gone too far beating the meringue
Fold meringue into the yolk batter:
- Gently fold 1/3 of the meringue into the thick batter. Using a whisk, using a cutting motion and fold over to mix. Repeat this motion several rounds. Continue on with the second 1/3 of the meringue again to mix. For the last 1/3 of the meringue, use a rubber spatula instead to ensure you get all the batter at the bottom of the bowl mixed in as well. Use a cut down in the middle and fold over motion to fold gently but quickly. Make sure you don't see any more white meringue. The mixture should be fluffy and voluminous.
- Pour the batter into an UNGREASED chiffon cake pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the surface. Gently drop the cake pan from about 10 cm height on the counter 2-3 times. Use a skewer to draw a zig zag to pop bubbles inside the cake batter.
Baking:
- Pop into the oven and let it bake at 330 F for 50 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a cake tester. If it comes out clean and the top is springy and dry to touch, you can remove it from the oven. If not, reduce the heat to 300 F (150 C) and bake for another 10-15 minutes. The time is just for reference
- Don't be alarm if your cake has some cracks on top. What you are looking at will become the bottom of your cake. I know many people mind it a lot and make a big fuss when the top of the chiffon cake cracks, but actually it's not a flaw.
Cool down:
- Once out of the oven, drop the cake pan from about 10 cm height on the counter several times to prevent shrinkage. Then carefully invert the pan upside down immediately. Your chiffon pan may have the little stands for you to invert, but I find it not high enough. I use a glass jar and set the inverted pan on top of the jar and let it cool down completely. Please don't be tempted to remove from the pan if it's still warm. It takes about one to two hours to cool down completely
- Once it's cool down completely, use a spatula knife to run through the edge and the outer center of the tube to help release the cake. Gently push the base to lift the cake out. Use the knife again to run through the base of the pan and then carefully release the cake
Storage:
- The cake can be stored at room temperature for about 3 days. Make sure to store it in air-tight container
Notes
- For 8 inch tube: use 5 eggs and multiply 1.7 the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 55-60 minutes, then lower temperature to 300 F (150 C) for 5-10 minutes
- For 9 inch tube: use the same recipe with 8-inch tube pan recipe (the one I posted on the recipe card)
- For 10 inch tube: use 8 eggs and multiply 2.7 the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 60-65 minutes, then lower temperature to 300 F (150 C) for 5-10 minutes
