Have you ever had issues making chiffon cake at home and are unsure why that happened? Then you are in the right place! Today, I am sharing everything you need to know about making the perfect chiffon cake - the incredibly moist and fluffiest vanilla chiffon cake. Apply the same tips and techniques for various kinds of chiffon cakes!
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The steps and ingredients for making chiffon cake are VERY simple, yet one mistake can cause an issue. You might get problems such as:
- The cake did not rise much in the oven.
- The cake deflated a lot.
- The cake batter was too loose.
- The cake was dry.
... and so on. And you are not alone! I have encountered all these issues in the past. After baking chiffon cakes countless times, I finally figured out how to avoid those issues. I'm excited to share all of them in this tutorial so you can make them successfully at home, even if this is your first time. As I said before, the best recipe is just a map without a path if we don't know the right tips and techniques for making the most use of it.
What's So Unique About This Chiffon Cake
- Japanese chiffon cake: This chiffon cake is made with a minimum amount of cake flour to achieve its fluffy texture. It also contains much less sugar than many chiffon cake recipes. This is truly the most fluffy chiffon cake I've ever had. It feels like eating a cloud.
- So moist!: Plenty of liquid and oil make this cake extremely moist. Say goodbye to dry chiffon cake!
- Easy recipe: Making chiffon cake might seem intimidating, but you'll be surprised to know how easy it is! The cake batter can be made within 15-20 minutes. All you have to do after that is to wait☕️
I also love the fact that you can make the vanilla chiffon cake with 6 simple ingredients (one of them is water!) you can get at any grocery store. It's very cost-friendly yet fancy, which is perfect for special events such as birthday parties and holiday gatherings. It'll be a perfect cake to impress your guests!
8 Tips For Making Perfect Chiffon Cake
Tip 1. Use an ungreased tube pan.
For chiffon cake, it is important NOT to use a non-stick pan or grease a pan since the side of the cake slides down as it cools down at room temperature. That is why a chiffon cake pan is often made with aluminum, which sticks to the cake pretty well to hold its height.
Tip 2: Mix the egg yolk mixture until smooth.
After adding flour to the egg yolk mixture, mix it well until very smooth. It'll look lumpy initially, but don't stop there! - It can leave lumps of cake flour in the finished cake.
Tip 3: Make a fluffy and stiff meringue.
Making a fluffy and stiff meringue is the most important thing for making a chiffon cake successfully because the cake rises well in the oven, mainly due to the power of whipped eggs. A softer meringue leads to a less fluffy chiffon cake with less volume. When the cake batter is too loose, it's because the meringue was too soft or the batter was overmixed.
Always check the consistency of the meringue with a whisk attachment before using it - The tip should stand straight when mixing and lifting the meringue with a whisk. Do not continue whipping until it gets too stiff and crumbly - It'll get harder to incorporate it into the egg yolk mixture evenly.
Also, ensure that no oil, liquid, or other residue is mixed in the egg whites, as this prevents the egg whites from whipping well.
Tip 4: Use the meringue as soon as it is made.
Meringue separates easily as it sits, and air bubbles slowly disappear. When the meringue is separated too much, it can not return to its original form; it'll stay grainier, unsmooth, and more fragile.
For the best result, always use the meringue as soon as it is made! If you waited too long somehow, always re-whip it by hand. It's not going to go back the same when you waited too long, but it's so much better than not doing it at all!
Tip 5: Fold the meringue with a whisk.
Because the egg yolk mixture is very loose and the meringue is thick, it can be a bit challenging to fold the two with a rubber spatula without leaving lumps of meringue. By folding it with a whisk, you can combine the two quickly without leaving the lumps. To fold it with a whisk, repeat the movement: scoop and toss, scoop and toss as turning a bowl. This allows you to combine them quickly while incorporating air. Watch the video tutorial to understand the movement fully!
Tip 6: Bake the cake batter right away!
Once the cake batter is made, it's important to pour it into the pan and bake it as quickly as possible before too many air bubbles pop and disappear. The sooner you finish, the higher and fluffier your cake will be. It might be challenging to move quickly in the beginning, but just keep that in mind, and you'll get faster each time!
Tip 7: How to judge if the cake is baked enough
When the cake is baked enough, the top of the cake bounces back gently, or a toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the middle. The top of the cake shrinks a bit when the center is fully cooked. Check the images below to see the difference (Left: when the sponge rises the most, Right: when the cake is fully cooked.)
Underbaked chiffon cake deflates more as it cools down, and overbaked chiffon cake feels drier. This recipe contains lots of liquid and oil, so it shouldn't feel dry unless you overbake it for quite some time!
Tip 8: Let the cake cool upside down.
Cooling the chiffon cake upside down helps prevent it from deflating due to its gravity. It doesn't make a significant difference, but it's something you can do as a finishing touch. I insert a pastry tip in a tube of a chiffon cake pan when the top of the cake might touch the table and get squished.
Troubleshooting Tips
When the cake did not rise, there are a couple of reasons you can think of:
Cause 1: Meringue was loose.
The cake does not rise much when the meringue is too soft. Ensure that you whip it until it becomes very fluffy and stiff.
Cause 2: It took too long to move the cake batter in the oven after the meringue was made.
Maybe the meringue was made perfectly, but you waited a little bit too long before using it, or it took a little bit too long to fold the meringue, which eliminated a lot more air bubbles in the meringue. Always be mindful of moving quickly as soon as the meringue is made and baking it right away!
Cause 3: The oven
Every oven acts differently - If causes 1 and 2 don't apply to you, consider baking the cake at a higher temperature and seeing if it fixes the issue.
Cause 1: Underbaked
When the cake deflates a lot after being taken out of the oven, most likely, it is underbaked. Try baking it a little bit longer next time.
Cause 2: The pan
It also happens when you do not use the proper pan. Do not use a nonstick pan, and always use an ungreased chiffon cake pan.
I also want to let you know that it's totally normal for the cake to deflate a little bit because it's so fluffy and light.
With this recipe, the cake should feel very moist. It must be overbaked when it feels dry.
There is no need to feel disappointed when you see the lumps in chiffon cake as long as the cake feels moist, fluffy, and delicious! But here are some possible causes if you want to perfect it:
Cause 1: The meringue was too stiff.
When whipping the meringue too much, it starts getting crumbly, making it harder to combine it with the egg yolk mixture without leaving lumps of meringue.
Cause 2: The meringue was separated
Meringue separates after leaving it for some time. Use it right away after it's made!
Cause 3: The meringue was folded with a rubber spatula.
It's so much easier to combine the egg yolk mixture and meringue with a whisk without leaving the lumps of meringue since the consistencies are quite different. For this recipe, I recommend folding it with a whisk and finishing it with a rubber spatula at the end to clean the side and bottom of a bowl.
Tips For Vanilla Chiffon Cake Ingredients
- Eggs: Separate egg yolks and whites to make meringue. Ensure that no yolks go in the whites since yolks contain a natural oil that prevents egg whites from whipping well.
- Vanilla beans: When using vanilla extract instead, be careful not to add it too much. Too much vanilla extract can make the cake's texture rougher and cause it to rise less than it should. You can also omit vanilla or use different flavorings, such as almond extract.
- Granulated sugar: We are adding it to both yolks and meringue. Use white sugar, such as caster sugar and granulated sugar, to create a light cake texture.
- Water: You can also alternate it with milk, coffee, orange juice, etc., to make various kinds of chiffon cake.
- Oil: I used olive oil. You can also use regular oils, such as vegetable and canola oil.
- Cake flour: It creates a very fluffy texture. Check below to see if you can use all-purpose flour instead.
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?
The short answer is yes! The chiffon cake gets a little bit fluffier and lighter with cake flour, but the difference is not that significant for this recipe. (See the comparison below.) The chiffon cake with all-purpose flour is fluffy, but the body is slightly more structured due to more gluten. Use all-purpose flour when you can not get cake flour!
Why don't you add baking powder to the chiffon cake?
You can add it, but it doesn't make a significant difference for this recipe since the minimum amount of flour is added to create the fluffiest texture - With baking powder, the chiffon cake rises more in the oven but shrinks as it cools down. (Check the image below for the comparison.) Also, the cake is extremely fluffy and moist without it, so I never feel a need to add it. Adding it can be effective for some recipes, especially when the flour ratio is higher.
The Video Tutorial
Watch the video tutorial to learn how to make the fluffy vanilla chiffon cake visually and deeply understand each step and technique!
7 Steps To Make Vanilla Chiffon Cake
Beat yolks, vanilla, and sugar together.
Whip egg yolks, vanilla beans (or vanilla extract), and granulated sugar with a whisk in a large bowl until it looks pale.
Mix in water and oil.
Add water and oil and mix until combined.
Mix in flour.
Add sifted cake flour and mix well until smooth. Set it aside.
Make meringue.
Whip egg whites at medium speed with a whisk attachment. Once they look bubbly like hand soap (an image on the left), add about half of the granulated sugar and continue whipping.
Once it looks fluffy, like a thick shampoo (an image on the right), add the remaining sugar and continue whipping.
Lower the speed toward the end to make the bubbles smaller and stop whipping once the meringue gets very fluffy and stiff. The tip should stand straight when mixing and lifting the meringue with a whisk attachment. Use it immediately.
The meringue is still soft. Keep whipping it!:
Stiff peaks. Perfect!:
Combine the yolk mixture and meringue.
Add about half of the meringue to the yolk mixture and fold it with a whisk until roughly combined. (Repeat the motion: scoop and toss, scoop and toss, as turning a bowl. Watch the video tutorial to master the movement.)
Add the remaining meringue and continue folding it with a whisk until roughly mixed.
At the very end, switch it to a rubber spatula and scrape off the side and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.
Bake the cake.
Pour the cake batter into the chiffon cake pan.
Swirl the batter with a toothpick (or chopstick, etc.) to eliminate large air bubbles. Put it in the oven right away.
Bake (Preheated) at 340ºF (171ºC) for about 40 minutes. Adjust the baking time depending on the size of the pan, thickness of the batter, oven, etc.
When it is baked enough, the top of the cake should bounce back gently, or a toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the middle.
Take the cake out of the pan.
As soon as the cake is out of the oven, flip the pan upside down and let it cool at room temperature.
Once cooled, remove the outer portion of the pan. I used to insert a small offset spatula along the side of the pan to detach the cake, but the side of the cake got scratched easily in this way. I now remove it by hand, and it works perfectly! You don't have to worry about the cake getting squished by doing this way since chiffon cake is very fluffy yet bouncy. Follow the directions below:
How to remove the chiffon cake from the pan by hand
- Push down the sides of the cake and the center around the tube
- Flip the pan and push the bottom to detach the side of the pan.
- Push the side of the cake to detach it from the bottom.
- Twist and lift the bottom to remove it.
Now the cake is ready to be served! You can frost it with whipped cream to make a birthday cake or plate a slice with whipped cream, fresh fruits, mint, etc. For me, whipped cream is a must for chiffon cake. The fluffy cream and light-like-a-cloud cake taste incredibly together.
How To Store Homemade Chiffon Cake
Wrap the surface tightly, ideally twice, to prevent the cake from getting dried.
How long can I store chiffon cake at room temperature?
You can store it at room temperature for up to 1 - 2 days. I usually move it to the fridge when I do not consume it within that day.
How long can I store chiffon cake in the fridge?
You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 - 4 days. It could last a little bit longer, but the cake slowly gets drier as it sits.
Can I store chiffon cake in the freezer?
Yes. You can store it for about one month. The cake gets drier as it sits longer.
FAQ
Chiffon cake is a type of sponge cake made by combining the egg yolk mixture and meringue. The egg yolk mixture is made by mixing yolks, sugar, liquid, oil, and flour. Mixing the flour with the liquid-based mixture and combining it with lots of meringue creates a light and fluffy yet bouncy texture.
The illustration of the chiffon cake method:
Sponge cake refers to any cake made by whipping eggs to create a fluffy texture. There are so many types of sponge cakes, and each has its own unique way of making them.
Some of the most popular sponge cakes are chiffon cake, genoise cake, biscuit cake, angel food cake, and Joconde cake. Each has different ways of making it.
Genoise sponge cake: It's made by whipping whole eggs and sugar and adding flour. Liquid and fat are often added to make it moist. I love it for its simplicity and fluffy, moist texture. I often make vanilla, matcha, and chocolate sponge cake using this method.
Biscuit sponge cake: It's made by whipping egg whites and sugar and adding egg yolks and flour. This method works perfectly when you want to make the sponge lighter and airier to let it soak with lots of liquids, such as ladyfingers for tiramisu, chocolate ladyfingers for black forest cake, or sponge cake for tres leches cake.
Angel food cake: It's made by whipping egg whites and sugar and adding flour. The sponge cake rises well due to lots of meringue, but it feels drier than this chiffon cake since yolks, water, and oil are typically not added.
Joconde sponge cake: It is basically an almond sponge cake. It's made by whipping eggs, powdered sugar, and almond flour and adding meringue. Flour and butter are often added at the very end. This thin sponge cake is suitable when you want to create a layer cake, such as a classic opera cake. Thanks to the almond flour, it's also very moist, tender, and rich.
Types of sponge cakes - illustration:
The method of making angel food cake is similar to biscuit sponge cake, except yolks are not added. Angel food cake is often compared to chiffon cake because they both use lots of meringue and a tube pan to bake it. However, liquid and oil are usually not added to angel food cake. Because of this, chiffon cake feels bouncier and moister.
Double the amounts of ingredients for a 9-inch (the top diameter) tube pan. It takes longer to bake it with a bigger pan. I recommend checking it after about 45 minutes.
I don't recommend baking it in round pans since the center of the cake tends to sink with them after taking it out of the oven. One technique I came up with to avoid the issue is to bake the pans with a water bath. You can check how to do it in my strawberry cream cake tutorial. The amounts of ingredients are slightly different, but it is also chiffon cake.
Yes! If you are whipping meringue with a hand mixer after that, ensure to wash the whisk attachment and dry it completely before using it for whipping egg whites since yolks prevent egg whites from whipping well. I do not recommend whipping egg whites first since they separate after leaving for some time and lose their best condition.
Printable Recipe
💬 If you loved this fluffy chiffon cake recipe, please share your feedback on this post! I always love hearing how you enjoyed it with your friends and family.
If you have a question about the tutorial, leave it in the comment section below, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!
Fluffy Vanilla Chiffon Cake
Equipment
- Chiffon cake pan the top: 7-inch, the bottom: 6-inch
- Stand mixer with a whisk attachment or hand mixer
- Large bowl
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Toothpick
Ingredients
- 70 g Egg yolk
- ½ pod Vanilla beans or vanilla extract: ½ tsp
- 25 g Granulated sugar for yolks
- 60 g Water
- 40 g Oil
- 80 g Cake flour Use all-purpose as an alternative.
- 132 g Egg white
- 50 g Granulated sugar for egg whites
NOTE: For best results, measure ingredients with a scale. All recipes are designed with weighed ingredients using grams/ounces. Cup measurements (US customary units) are provided for your convenience.
Instructions
- Beat yolks, vanilla, and sugar together:Whip egg yolks, vanilla beans (or vanilla extract), and granulated sugar with a whisk in a large bowl until it looks pale. (3 - 5 minutes)70 g Egg yolk, ½ pod Vanilla beans, 25 g Granulated sugar for yolks
- Mix in water and oil:Add water and oil and mix until combined.60 g Water, 40 g Oil
- Mix in flour:Add sifted cake flour and mix well until smooth. Set it aside.80 g Cake flour
- Make meringue:Whip egg whites at medium speed with a whisk attachment. Once they look bubbly like hand soap (an image on the left), add about half of the granulated sugar and continue whipping.Once it looks fluffy, like a thick shampoo (an image on the right), add the remaining sugar and continue whipping.Lower the speed toward the end to make the bubbles smaller and stop whipping once the meringue gets very fluffy and stiff. The tip should stand straight when mixing and lifting the meringue with a whisk attachment. Use it immediately.132 g Egg white, 50 g Granulated sugar for egg whites
- Combine the yolk mixture and meringue:Add about half of the meringue to the yolk mixture and fold it with a whisk until roughly combined. (Repeat the motion: scoop and toss, scoop and toss, as turning a bowl. Watch the video tutorial to master the movement.)Add the remaining meringue and continue folding it with a whisk until roughly mixed.At the very end, switch it to a rubber spatula and scrape off the side and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.
- Bake the cake:Pour the cake batter into the chiffon cake pan.Swirl the batter with a toothpick (or chopstick, etc.) to eliminate large air bubbles. Put it in the oven right away.Bake (Preheated) at 340ºF (171ºC) for about 40 minutes. Adjust the baking time depending on the size of the pan, thickness of the batter, oven, etc.When it is baked enough, the top of the cake should bounce back gently, or a toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the middle.
- Take the cake out of the pan:As soon as the cake is out of the oven, flip the pan upside down and let it cool at room temperature.Once cooled, remove the pan out of the pan.How to remove the chiffon cake from the pan by hand1. Push down the sides of the cake and the center around the tube2. Flip the pan and push the bottom to detach the side of the pan.3. Push the side of the cake to detach it from the bottom. 4. Twist and lift the bottom to remove it.Now the cake is ready to be served! You can frost it with whipped cream to make a birthday cake or plate a slice with whipped cream, fresh fruits, mint, etc. For me, whipped cream is a must for chiffon cake. The fluffy cream and light-like-a-cloud cake taste incredibly together.
Video
Notes
How to store it
Wrap the surface tightly, ideally twice, to prevent the cake from drying. You can store it for up to 1 - 2 days at room temperature, 3 - 4 days in the fridge, or about one month in the freezer. For the best taste, consume it within 1 - 2 days.8 Tips For Making Perfect Chiffon Cake
- Use an ungreased tube pan: For chiffon cake, it is important NOT to use a non-stick pan or grease a pan since the side of the cake slides down as it cools down at room temperature. That is why a chiffon cake pan is often made with aluminium which sticks to the cake pretty well to hold its height.
- Mix the egg yolk mixture until smooth: After adding flour to the egg yolk mixture, mix it well until very smooth. It'll look lumpy initially, but don't stop there! - It can leave lumps of cake flour in the finished cake.
- Make a fluffy and stiff meringue: Making a fluffy and stiff meringue is the most important thing for making a chiffon cake successfully because the cake rises well in the oven, mainly due to the power of whipped eggs. Softer meringue leads to less fluffy chiffon cake with less volume. When the cake batter is too loose, it's because the meringue was too soft. Always check the consistency of the meringue with a whisk attachment before using it - The tip should stand straight when mixing and lifting the meringue with a whisk. Also ensure that any oil, liquid, and other residue are not mixed in the egg whites since they prevent the egg whites from whipping well.
- Use the meringue as soon as it is made: Meringue separates easily as it sits, and air bubbles slowly disappear. When the meringue is separated too much, it can not return to its original form; it'll stay grainier, unsmooth, and more fragile. For the best result, always use the meringue as soon as it is made! If you waited too long somehow, always re-whip it by hand. It's not going to go back the same when you waited too long, but it's so much better than not doing it at all!
- Fold the meringue with a whisk: Because the egg yolk mixture is very loose and the meringue is thick, it can be a bit challenging to fold the two with a rubber spatula without leaving lumps of meringue. By folding it with a whisk, you can combine the two quickly without leaving the lumps. To fold it with a whisk, repeat the movement: scoop and toss, scoop and toss as turning a bowl. This allows you to combine them quickly while incorporating air. Watch the video tutorial to understand the movement fully!
- Bake the cake batter right away: Once the cake batter is made, it's important to pour it into the pan and bake it as quickly as possible before too many air bubbles pop and disappear. The sooner you finish, the higher and fluffier your cake will be. It might be challenging to move quickly in the beginning, but just keep that in mind, and you'll get faster each time!
- How to judge if the cake is baked enough: When the cake is baked enough, the top of the cake bounces back gently when touching it, or a toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the middle. The top of the cake shrinks a bit when the center is fully cooked. Check the images below to see the difference (Left: when the sponge rises the most, Right: when the cake is fully cooked.) Underbaked chiffon cake deflates more as it cools down, and overbaked chiffon cake feels drier. (This recipe contains lots of liquid and oil, so it shouldn't feel dry unless you overbake it for quite some time!
- Let the cake cool upside down: Cooling the chiffon cake upside down helps prevent it from deflating due to its gravity. It doesn't make a significant difference, but it's something you can do as a finishing touch. I insert a pastry tip in a tube of a chiffon cake pan when the top of the cake might touch the table and get squished.
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