• 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
• Take the eggs out from the fridge to let them come to room temperature. Separate the yolks from the whites. Make sure there is no trace of egg yolks or oil in the egg whites

Prepare cake batter:

• Preheat oven to 330 F (165 C). Put egg yolks, sugar, oil and water and stir to combine. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir to combine. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and stir to combine. I added the acid last, so it won't interfere with the cake ability to rise later during baking
• You may see some lumps, but that's okay because of the lemon zest

Prepare the meringue:

• Beat the egg whites with a stand mixer or a handmixer until foamy. Add lemon juice or cream of tartar. Beat for another minute and then add the sugar in 3 batches and beat until you get a stiff peak, meaning, when you lift up the meringue, it will hold its shape for a long time and won't drip. Don't overbeat once you reach the stiff peak

Fold meringue into the cake batter:

• Fold in 1/3 of the meringue into the cake batter and use a rubber spatula to swipe down and fold over motion (as shown in the video). Continue until you finish folding in the rest of the meringue

Baking:

• Pour the cake batter into the ungreased chiffon tube pan. Make sure your chiffon cake is a non-stick pan or the cake will not rise. It needs to cling to the pan to help it climbs and rises high. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the top if necessary. Lift up the cake pan, about 5-6 inches high and then bang on the counter several times to pop up any large bubbles inside the cake batter. The bubbles will create holes inside your cake later
• Place the pan inside the oven, 3rd rack from the top and bake for 50 minutes and then lower temperature to 300 F and bake for another 15 minutes. The cake should be dry to touch and no longer jiggle. You can insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake and it should come out clean

Cooling:

• Immediately invert the tube pan over a wine bottle or use a glass jar or bowl or whatever to prop the middle of the tube pan and let it cools down this way. Once it cools down invert it back and use a knife to loosen the side and the middle. Cover the pan with a serving plate and flip it over. Gently push the base of the pan down, it should come out. Use a knife to gently release the base from the top of the cake

Prepare lemon glaze:

• Once the cake has cooled down and ready to be served, you can quickly make the lemon glaze. Combine all the ingredients for the glaze and stir. Let it sits for few minutes and then drizzle it over the cake and decorate with some lemon zest if you like

Storing:

• Once cools down completely, freshly-baked chiffon cake can be kept in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days (ours never made it past 3 days LOL)