Chef Takumi
Almond Tofu (杏仁豆腐, Annin Dōfu)
A cool square of almond-scented milk, set softly and served with mikan in thin syrup, is dinner-party food without theater. The only stern demand is restraint with the fragrance.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Chiffon Cake (シフォンケーキ)
Created by
A good chiffon cake is all lightness, but it isn't fragile if you treat the egg whites kindly and cool the pan upside down.
Desserts
Japanese
Comfort Food
Birthday
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
40 min cook•3 hr 5 min total
Yield1 17cm tube cake, 8 servings
Chiffon cake looks like the sort of cake that wants to defeat a calm person. It doesn't. The tall shape, the pale crumb, the trembling softness, all of it comes from one plain act: whipping egg whites well and folding them in without crushing the air you just made.
This is yōgashi, Western-style confectionery made at home in a Japanese way: restrained sweetness, clean texture, no heavy frosting to hide behind. The oil keeps the crumb moist even after a day, while the egg whites lift the batter higher than butter would. Use fresh eggs at room temperature and a plain aluminum tube pan. That ungreased metal matters, because the batter climbs it as it bakes, like a child climbing a tree with serious intentions.
The detail that decides the cake comes after the oven. Cool it inverted, still in the pan, until fully cold. If you turn it out warm, the crumb collapses under its own lightness. Let it hang upside down and the structure sets while stretched tall. Then loosen it gently, slice with a long serrated knife, and leave it room on the plate. A cake this quiet doesn't need much company.
Chiffon cake was created in the United States in the 1920s by Harry Baker, a Los Angeles baker, and the formula became widely known after General Mills published it in 1948. In Japan it entered the broad world of yōgashi, Western-style sweets adapted to Japanese tastes, where its low sweetness and soft texture suited home baking and kissaten cafe service. The ungreased tube pan and inverted cooling method remained central, because the cake's height depends on the batter clinging to the pan as it rises and sets.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large eggs
Quantity
4
separated, at room temperature
cake flour
Quantity
70g
granulated sugar
Quantity
80g
divided
baking powder
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
neutral oil
Quantity
45ml
rice bran oil or canola oil
whole milk
Quantity
60ml
room temperature
vanilla extract
Quantity
1 teaspoon
lemon juice or rice vinegar
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
powdered sugar (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large eggsseparated, at room temperature | 4 |
| cake flour | 70g |
| granulated sugardivided | 80g |
| baking powder | 1 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
| neutral oilrice bran oil or canola oil | 45ml |
| whole milkroom temperature | 60ml |
| vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon |
| lemon juice or rice vinegar | 1/2 teaspoon |
| powdered sugar (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •17cm plain aluminum chiffon tube pan, ungreased
- •Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- •Rubber spatula
- •Fine sieve
- •Thin knife or offset spatula
- •Long serrated knife
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the pan
Set an oven rack in the lower third and heat the oven to 170 C. Use an ungreased 17cm aluminum chiffon tube pan. Don't oil it and don't line it. The batter needs to grip the bare metal as it rises, and grease would make it slide back down before the structure sets.
A nonstick pan works against this cake. Plain aluminum is the proper tool, and here the old rule has a very practical reason. - 2
Make yolk batter
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 30g of the sugar until smooth and slightly pale. Whisk in the oil slowly, then the milk and vanilla. Sift in the cake flour, baking powder, and salt, and whisk just until the batter is smooth. Stop there. Too much mixing wakes the gluten, and chiffon should bend softly, not chew back.
- 3
Whip the whites
In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the lemon juice or rice vinegar until foamy. Add the remaining 50g sugar in three additions, beating until the meringue holds glossy medium-stiff peaks that bend only at the tip. The acid steadies the foam, and adding sugar slowly lets the bubbles stay small and even.
If the whites look dry, clumpy, or cottony, you've gone too far. Glossy peaks fold into batter; dry peaks break into little islands. - 4
Fold with care
Stir one third of the meringue into the yolk batter to lighten it. This first addition is allowed to lose some air, because its job is to loosen the heavy batter for the rest. Add the remaining meringue in two additions, folding with a rubber spatula from the bottom up, turning the bowl as you go. Stop when no white streaks remain.
- 5
Fill and bake
Pour the batter into the ungreased pan from one spot, then run a skewer once through the batter to break large hidden pockets. Smooth the top lightly. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is deep golden, springs back when touched, and a skewer comes out clean. The cake should rise high and may crack on top. That crack is not a failure; it is the cake breathing properly.
- 6
Cool inverted
As soon as the cake leaves the oven, turn the pan upside down over its legs or over the neck of a bottle. Let it cool completely, at least 2 hours. This is the step people want to hurry, and this is the one that decides it. While warm, the crumb is too tender to hold itself up, so cooling inverted keeps the height you worked for.
- 7
Release and slice
Run a thin knife or offset spatula around the outer wall, center tube, and base of the pan. Lift out the cake and loosen the bottom. Slice with a long serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion, letting the blade do the work instead of pressing down. Dust lightly with powdered sugar if you like, or serve it plain with tea.
Chef Tips
- •Separate the eggs while cold, then let them come to room temperature before mixing. Cold eggs separate neatly, but room-temperature whites whip higher and more evenly.
- •Use cake flour if you can. Its lower protein gives the crumb that soft, fine texture we want. All-purpose flour will make a cake, but it won't be quite the same honmono softness.
- •Don't grease the pan. This feels wrong to many bakers, which is fair. But chiffon needs friction, and the bare pan is the ladder.
- •Cool the cake fully before unmolding. Warm chiffon is all promise and no backbone. Give it time and it will stand properly.
Advance Preparation
- •The cake can be baked one day ahead. Leave it in the pan until fully cool, then unmold and wrap it loosely once cold.
- •Store at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bring chilled slices back to room temperature before serving so the crumb softens again.
- •Do not frost or fill the cake ahead if you want the cleanest texture. Its plainness is part of its charm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 52g)
Calories
160 calories
Total Fat
8 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
6 g
Cholesterol
95 mg
Sodium
170 mg
Total Carbohydrates
18 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
11 g
Protein
4 g
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