Chiffon Info

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http://www.honeyandsoy.com/pandan-chiffon-cake/


This recipe from Debbie, author of numerous cookbooks, including “UNDERWRAPS” by Marshall Cavendish Cuisine and “Penang Food Guide & Cookbook” and “Nyonya Flavours” by Star Publications
REcipe for a 25cm tube pan - use 6 eggs
http://food.insing.com/recipe/Pandan-chiffon-cake-recipe/id-fe492700?nav=20500
Provides useful tips:
Ingredients:
Ingredients A:
7 large egg whites
130g castor sugar
½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Ingredients B:
7 egg yolks
100g castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredients C:
6 tablespoon vegetable oil like corn oil
125 ml coconut milk
2 tablespoons pandan juice (extracted from pounding 5 large leaves of pandan)

Ingredients D:150 g self raising flour
¼ tsp cream of tartar

25 cm tube pan, do not grease the pan

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170*C, Sift Ingredients D, two to three times, set aside
2. Using an electric beater, fitted with a balloon whisk attachment, beat egg whites until foamy, adding in sugar & cream of tartar gradually. Whisk over high speed until whites are stiff.
3. In a separate bowl, using the electric beater, whisk egg yolks with sugar and salt till pale in colour.
4. Add in oil, coconut milk, pandan juice and continue to whisk till fluffy.
5. Fold in sifted flour gently
6. Fold the stiffly beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a large spatula/ wire whisk until just blended.
7. Pour batter into a 25cm tube pan (do not grease the pan).
8. Bake in pre-heated oven for 45 to 50mins or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let cool completely before unmoulding.
10. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

Tips to making the perfect chiffon cake
1. Make sure the whisk and the mixing bowls which are used to beat the egg whites are free of grease. You may rinse the bowls and whisk in hot water, just to make sure they are clean.
2. Be careful when separating the eggs. Even the tiniest bit of fat or egg yolk will wreck the meringue, as fat interferes with the formation of a good foam
3.  Avoid letting your fingers touch the areas that will come in contact with the egg whites. That way, you'll avoid leaving oils from your hands on the utensils you just washed.
4. Do not add sugar before whipping the egg whites. Adding sugar at the beginning can double the time it takes to whip the egg whites. Add the sugar when the whites have become foamy & fluffy.
5. Once you start whisking egg whites, continue until it has reached the right consistency. Do not stop midway.
6. When folding in the egg yolk mixture, make sure a large wire whisk is used and do not over mix as this deflates the beaten mixture causing the cake to become dense.
7. The oven must be pre-heated to the right temperature and the oven rack must be positioned at in the middle of the oven. Bake in the convention mode – heat source is from the top and bottom. It’s preferable not to use the fan forced mode as it tends to dry the cake a little.


Another Guide:
http://ieatishootipost.sg/2009/11/sembawang-confectionary-taste-of-80s.html
the ingredients must be light so that it can raise too... use cake flour & castor sugar.

the egg white must be clear of impurities.

beat/ whish the egg yolk mixture ingredients 1st..

then do the egg white..
Step 1 -> beat/whish the egg white until foamy with medium speed.
Step 2 -> then add in cream of tartar + castor sugar.
Step 3 -> beat / whisk them with high speed until it is very stiff.
Step 4 -> then fold 1/3 of the egg white mixture (mentioned in Step3) into egg yolk mixture.
Step 5 -> then pour the remaining egg yolk mixture into remaining egg white & fold properly.

*** Please note that folding is very important. If not it will not raise properly as the ingredients are heavy & when it is baked... it like a KUEH with different layer.

After baking, turn the tube pan upside downto cool. After it is cooled then remove the cake from the tube pan.

*** Preheat the oven @ 180 degree (top bottom heat). Bake time depends on your oven. Mine conventional oven took me about 1hr 30mins.

*** To test if the cake is ready, just pressed the surface of the cake, if it bounced back means it is ready



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from anotherblogger:
Yes, I agree with ShadowGhost that the ingredients should be as light as possible and folding is the most important.

As meringue collapse easily, one has to be real gentle and try to minimize folding while mixing well. If not, mixture will liquidfy and will not rise properly.

Meringue is the rising agent and also plays a big part in the texture. And impurities like a small amount of yolk can affect it from not whipped up sufficiently.

The way i learnt about chiffon is slightly different from ShadowGhost:

1) Mix all liquid ingredients including zest if used. Add liquid mixture to all dry ingredients (remember to sift them!). Set aside and prepare the meringue.

2) Whisk egg white until foamy with medium speed. It is best to use room-temperature whites, as the protein in the whites expand better when warm. Therefore, whip up faster and provide more volume. Older egg whites whip more easily to a higher volume too (use them if its for baking).

3) Add granulated sugar (castor sugar) into at least 3 different parts. Meaning the total amount of sugar added in by 3 stage. Allow most of the sugar to be mixed well before adding the next part in.
It allows more air incorporated and whips to the consistency need faster.

Cream of tartar is to be added with the first part of sugar if used.

4) Pay attention while whipping as egg whites can go from stiff to dry and over beat in as quick as less than a minute.

Stop whipping at the consistency needed. Soft meringue or hard meringue. For this case, soft meringue I would say.

The fun part, invert your whisk and see the meringue stays on your whisk! If the tail droop like a wither flower - soft meringue. If it sticks up straight - hard meringue. Try inverting the bowl too, it should stay in the bowl =p

5) Mix 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it and fold in the remaining egg whites.

6) Pour batter into un-greased tube pan and bake at 180 degree. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Different oven works differently, so baking time approximately 1 hour and above. OH! and also depends on how big it is haha... For mine took about 1 hour 45mins... To check if the chiffon is ready, ShadowGhost's method is good too =)

7) 1 good trick: Immediately invert the pan over the neck of a wine bottle and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan ;) (not recommended for big ones!)

* Note: Cream of tartar is best known for aiding to stabilize and giving more volume to whipped whites. However, for me, i do not use it, as sugar stabilizes as well =) so if you dont have cream of tartar or other acid, you can always omit it!