MEYER LEMON CHIFFON CAKE
COURSE: DESSERT CUISINE: JAPANESE KEYWORD: CHIFFON CAKE, LEMON CAKE
PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 50 MINUTES
SERVINGS: 1 17-CM (7") CAKE
Take advantage of the citrus season and make this delicate Meyer Lemon
Chiffon Cake cake that guarantee to brighten up your day!
INGREDIENTS INSTRUCTIONS
3 large eggs (separated) 1. Gather all the ingredients. You will also need a 17cm (7") chiffon cake
pan. Make sure you use the correct chiffon cake pan. The best types are the
85 g sugar (3 oz or measure ½
aluminum ones with a removable base (Do not use non-stick bakeware for
cup and remove 1 Tbsp)
chiffon cake – it will not work). Do not grease the mold because the cake needs
(separated)
to cling on the sides and center of the pan for support as it rises or it will
3 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil collapse.
(vegetable, canola, etc) (40 ml)
2. Preheat the oven to 340 ºF (170 ºC). Separate 3 eggs to yolks and whites. Egg
2 Meyer lemons yolks in a large bowl, and whites in a smaller bowl.
75 g cake flour (2.6 oz or 2/3 3. In the bowl with egg yolks, add roughly ⅓ of granulated sugar and whisk until
cup) (see Note for homemade creamy pale yellow color.
cake flour recipe)
4. Add 3 Tbsp (40 ml) vegetable oil and zest of 1-2 Meyer lemons (I love more zest
1 tsp baking powder (3 g) in the cake so I use 2, but you can use one).
2 Tbsp confectioners’ 5. Cut Meyer lemons in half. Juice all of it (4 halves).
sugar/powder sugar (for
6. If you don’t have 4 Tbsp (¼ cup or 60 ml) of juice, add water.
sprinkling on the cake)
7. Add 4 Tbsp (¼ cup or 60 ml) juice to the egg mixture and whisk well.
MEYER LEMON ICING
GLAZE (OPTIONAL) 8. Sift 75 g (2.6 oz) cake flour and 1 tsp baking powder into the egg mixture.
60 g confectioners’ Whisk until totally incorporated and make sure there are no lumps.
sugar/powder sugar (½ cup)
9. Using a stand mixer (make sure there is no trace of water or oil), whip the egg
½ Meyer lemon (½ lemon = 1 whites on medium low sped (speed 4) till opaque, foamy and bubbly. Add ⅓ of
Tbsp juice) the remaining granulated sugar and continue whipping.
10. After 30 seconds or so, increase the stand mixer speed to high (speed 10) and
add the remaining sugar slowly in small increments.
11. It takes about 2-3 minutes until stiff peaks form (from the moment you
switched to speed 10, but this is just a rough estimate). To check on stiff peaks,
pull up your whisk and see if the egg whites go straight up (stiff peak) and just
the tip is soft enough that it folds over, like taking a bow.
12. Using a whisk, fold in ⅓ of the egg whites in the batter until the mixture is
homogeneous.
13. Fold in the rest of egg whites in 2-3 increments and mix gently until the
mixture is homogeneous.
14. Pour the batter into the ungreased 17 cm (7”) chiffon cake pan in same location
to prevent from forming more bubbles.
15. To remove or prevent air pockets before baking, run a skewer (chopstick, knife
or spatula) through the batter and then drop the pan gently on the kitchen
counter a few times.
16. Bake at 340 ºF (170 ºC) for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes
out clean and the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed. If the top
gets burn too quickly, cover the top loosely with aluminum foil.
17. As soon as you take out the cake pan from the oven, drop it gently on the
kitchen counter to stop shrinking. The cake must be cooled upside down in its
pan so that it stretches downward instead of collapsing. Stick the cake pan on a
tall heavy bottle or invert the cake pan onto a cooling rack (if you use angel
food cake pan). Let it cool completely.
18. To extract the cake, run a thin sharp knife or thin offset spatula around both
the outer and inner edge of the cake.
19. Remove the cake from the pan and run the knife on the bottom. Move onto a
serving plate.
20. Dust powder sugar on top, if you like, and enjoy!
21. [Optional] To Make Meyer Lemon Icing Glaze, place powder sugar in a small
bowl and stir in 1 Tbsp. Meyer lemon juice using the half Meyer lemon you kept
from step 4. The glaze should be thick, but pourable. Add more sugar or Meyer
lemon juice as necessary to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over the cake
using a spoon and enjoy!
RECIPE NOTES
Cake flour: All-purpose flour and cake flour do not perform the same. Cake flour is more delicate, and if you use all-
purpose flour instead of cake flour, the texture will be dense and tough. If you can't find cake flour, use this substitution:
1. Take one level cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp.
2. Then, add 2 Tbsp of corn starch back in. Now you have 1 cup of cake flour!
3. Be sure to sift the flour 3-4 times to distribute the corn starch well.
Tips for beating egg whites:
Make sure your beaters and mixing bowl are clean and dry. A speck of oil or egg yolk on either one can
minimize the volume of the beaten egg whites.
Avoid plastic bowls -- even clean ones may hold oily residue that can affect the beating quality of the
egg whites.
Use a bowl that's wide enough to keep the beaters from being buried in the egg whites.
Do not overbeat or underbeat egg whites -- your cake may fall. Egg whites should be stiff but not dry.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do
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