If you are looking for a really good soft and fluffy gluten-free chiffon cake recipe, you have to try this easy no-fuss recipe. It is incredibly soft and fluffy with an amazing pandan aroma (or whatever flavor you like). No xanthan gum needed. All the tips you need to know.
½tspcream of tartaror use 1 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar
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
Before you start making the recipe, make sure eggs, pandan juice (or milk) are at room temperature. Get them out from the fridge 20-30 minutes and let them sit at room temperature before you plan to start working on this
Make pandan juice:
Make sure you cut the leaves into little pieces to extract the juice out from the leaves. Put in a blender and add coconut milk and water and blend until smooth. Transfer to a cheesecloth or muslin cloth or use a strainer to squeeze the juice out Set aside for later use. Make sure you get 100 ml of liquid total. Top up with a bit of water if needed to make up to 100 ml
Prepare the cake batter:
Separate the egg yolks from the whites and let them sit out for 30 minutes at room temperature. The meringue whips better at room temperature
Put egg yolks, oil, sugar, coconut milk, water (or homemade pandan juice), pandan essence in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine
Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Use a rubber spatula and combine. Try not to overmix it too
Whip the meringue:
Preheat your oven to 325 F (160 C) for conventional oven. If you have convection oven, please reduce the temperature by 20 degrees. Place the oven rack on the middle rack of your oven
Place the egg whites in a clean bowl. 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, speed 4 on Kitchen Aid, until frothy, add cream of tartar and whip until it turns whitish. Increase the speed to 6 and gradually add the sugar as you beat, in about 1-minute interval before adding the next sugar. Continue to beat until you get a firm peak. When you lift the meringue up with the whisk, it should maintain its shape with its tail bending slightly
Fold meringue into batter:
Gently fold in 1/3 of the meringue into the thick batter. Using a rubber spatula, swipe from the side and gently fold over to mix and then continue. Repeat this motion several rounds. Continue on with the second 1/3 of the meringue again to mix. Continue to do this until you are done with the meringue and the batter and meringue are nicely mixed. You shouldn't see anymore white meringue
DO NOT grease your chiffon pan. The cake needs to cling to the pan to rise. You can use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles you see and gently drop the cake pan from about 10 cm height on the counter 3-4 times. This will pop any air bubbles inside the cake
Baking:
Pop into the oven and let it bake at 325 F for 50 minutes to 1 hour for 9-inch cake. If you make your cake smaller or bigger, you may need to adjust the baking temperature accordingly. Please DO NOT open your oven door to peek or check on the chiffon cake at least for the first 45 minutes
Check for doneness:
The surface may have some cracks or it may not, but don't worry if there are some cracks, this will be the bottom of the cake. The surface should bounce back when you touch and no longer jiggly. You can insert a cake tester and it should come out clean with maybe just a bit of crumbs, but it shouldn't be wet. If it is, bake a little longer in a 5-minute increment until a cake tester comes out clean
Invert and cool down:
Once out of the oven, immediately invert the pan upside down. 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 or you can use a wine bottle 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 of the cake to help release the cake. Gently push the base of the pan down. Use the knife again to run through the top of the cake to help release it from the base of the pan
Video
Notes
Recipe adjustment for different tube size:
For 6 inch tube: use 2 eggs and multiply 0.4 the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean
For 7 inch tube: use 3 eggs and multiply 0.6 the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean
For 8 inch tube: use 4 eggs and multiply 0.8 the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean
For 10 inch tube: use 7 eggs and multiply 1.4 the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean