No-Bake Chiffon Cake with Goji Berries (Steamed Chiffon Cake)

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: Asian Fusion

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1 5

Servings: slices (6-inch round pan)

Calories: 144kcal

Author: Marvellina

Learn how to make soft fluffy no-bake chiffon cake without using the chiffon tube pan. I love biting into pieces of goji berries inside the cake and they add nice visual contrast too.

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US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake batter:

3 egg yolks (room temperature) about 18-20 grams each
30 gr cooking oil
35 gr whole milk (room temperature)
10 gr granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
40 gr all-purpose flour
10 gr cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp goji berries

Meringue:

3 egg whites (room temperature) about 30 grams each
½ tsp vinegar or lemon juice
35 gr granulated sugar

Instructions

Prepare the cake pan:

I used 6-inch round pan with a removable base. Wrap the outside of the cake pan with a double layer of aluminum foil if you use a removable base pan as I did. If you use a non-removable base pan (not recommended), line the bottom with parchment paper without greasing the pan
IMPORTANT TO NOTE IF YOU USE REGULAR PAN WITHOUT REMOVABLE BASE: I notice that when I use a regular pan without a removable base, the bottom of the cake will concave. That's because the parchment paper is soaking up the condensation created during cooling down in an inverted manner. The bottom of the cake becomes wet and concave. I have no solution to that other than investing in a pan with a removable base if you don't have a chiffon tube pan to bake or steam chiffon cake

Prepare the steamer:

Fill up the steamer with water and bring the water to a boil and then lower the heat to medium. The steamer needs to be ready when the cake is ready to be steamed

Prepare the cake batter:

Separate the yolks from the whites. Mix egg yolks, milk, oil,sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Sift in flour and salt and use a whisk to combine using a "Z" motion. Set aside. Add the goji berries and whisk to combine

Make the meringue:

Beat the meringue on low speed until foamy, add the acid and then increase the speed to medium and beat for about 1 minute. Gradually add in sugar in three batches and beat for 1 minute after each addition. After that increase the speed to high and beat until you get a soft peak and then lower the speed to medium and continue beating until the meringue is stiff. When you lift it up, it will stand up straight. The meringue should be smooth and glossy. Stop beating once you reached this point. Beating further will break it down and make meringue foamy and difficult to fold into the cake batter

Fold meringue into the cake batter:

Take 1/3 of the meringue and combine it with the cake batter and use a whisk to swipe down and fold over. When you reach the last 1/3, switch to a rubber spatula so you can scrape down the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is mixed up

Steam the cake:

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan from a height of about 20 cm height. This helps to pop large bubbles. Use a skewer to go around the cake to pop any bubbles inside the cake. Tap the cake pan 2-3 times and then put inside the steamer and cover it with a plate. I figure this actually works better than using aluminum foil. This is to avoid water condensation dripping on the cake surface creating burn and dense spots
Lower the heat to medium and low. This also highly depends on your stove. Do not steam over high heat. The cake will shrink a lot when it cools down when you steam over high heat. If the cake rises too quickly, it's going to shrink a lot more.
The goal is to maintain a steady med-low temperature throughout the steaming period. Steam for 55 minutes and then turn off the heat and wait 5 minutes before opening the lid and removing the cake from the steamer. I recommend steaming for 1 hour if this is your first time and you are not sure about the heat level. It's safer than undercooking the chiffon cake. Undercooked chiffon cake will be wet on the inside and have a higher chance of collapsing during cooling down

Cooling down:

Remove the cover and take the cake out from the steamer and drop the cake pan on the counter 2-3 times to minimize shrinkage.
Turn it upside down on a cooling rack or using two small bowls or saucers to prop the pan up (as shown in the photo) above. Let it cools down completely at this position
Unmould the cake by running an offset spatula on the side of the cake to loosen and then invert upside down. This can be the top of the cake if you prefer

Storage:

The cake can be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days in an air-tight container

Video

Nutrition