Lemon Chiffon Cake

[Wendy DeBord]

Anyone have a recipe they've already made that they could highly reccomend? I haven't made one in ages..............

I recall seeing some great reviews on RLB's orange chiffon cake (although I haven't made it myself)......I was wondering if anyone here had made it and if so-any reason why I couldn't switch out the orange and make it lemon?

Thanks

[nightscotsman]

I've tried a couple of RLB's chiffon cake recipes, including the Orange Glow, and really like the texture and moistness. She has a Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake recipe in the Cake Bible, though I haven't made that one yet.

[Dee]

Yes, I've made the lemon chiffon cake from the Cake Bible, my first chiffon cake ever, as a matter of fact! And I was very happy with it, wonderful texture and moistness. Delicious with the lemon curd whipped cream which is in the CB also!

D

[Wendy DeBord]

O.k. thanks for reasuring me of my recipe choice. I don't have time to try this out or any other recipe so it's a one shot deal. I've got my fingers crossed RBL will come thru for me on this item.

[Tepee]

I'm a bit late...but here's my 2 sen on RLB Chiffon cakes. I've tried them all...and have this to say. Although her chiffon cakes turn out very moist, yet fluffy, I feel 1 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar asked in her recipes are too much; left me with a very unpleasant taste on my tongue. I'm afraid I'm very sensitive to cream of tartar and soda bicarbonate. Subsequently, I reduced it to 1/2 tsp and the texture of the cake did not seem to hurt, still good, but easier on the tongue.

[Samaki]

Have you tired it yet? I'm another big fan of RLB's orange and lemon chiffon cakes. In fact, I think they're the best cakes on the book.

[Fernwood]

I have a couple of questions for those who have experience with these RLB chiffon cake recipes:

I made the Orange glow cake yesterday. I followed the recipe quite strictly; the aluminum tube pan I used is rather lightweight, feels a little flimsy. It took a few minutes longer than written to bake, but seemed to turn out just right. My only problem was what seemed to be condensed moisture on the inside surfaces of the pan. The recipe specifies that the cake is cooled completely in the tube pan ("~1 1/2hrs"). There was so much moisture around the tube that there was syrup dripping down on the bottle that the upside-down pan was balanced on. After unmolding, the outer surface of the cake was unpleasantly gooey. I finally used a brush to clean away most of this wet, superficial crumb layer, then put the cake into the barely warm oven with the convection fan on until it was fairly dry to touch. Otherwise, the texture of the cake was great and it was well-received.

The other aspect that needed improvement, I thought, was presentation. The high, bare sides of this big, tall cake looked so stark to me! I agree with the book that it doesn't want an actual frosting. Does anyone have an idea for decoration/garnish/presentation to address this? I had no time to fool around and ended up dropping a little posy of nasturtiums into the center of the cake. I think this drew the eye to the bright flowers, away from the bare sides, but I was not entirely satisfied. Any suggestions?

Thanks, Fern

[Wendy DeBord]

Wow, the moisture dripping down as you described Fernwood, seems very strange indeed. At first I wondered if you underbaked your cake. Now I'm wondering if by chance you put it in a very confined area where it created steam with the different temp.s contrasting? Was your climate neutral.....was it raining or do you have your air conditioning on high?

Decorating I might shake some xxxsugar on top, or make a sugar drizzle. Whipped cream goes well with just about any cake and I typically offer it with a chiffon plus fresh fruit.

[Fernwood]

Thanks for the feedback, Wendy. The cake was in its tube pan, upside-down over a wine bottle on the kitchen counter to cool and it was a truly beautiful warm September day. As I mentioned above, I believe the instructions indicate it should cool completely in the pan, perhaps 1 1/2 hrs. In fact, when I think about it, I went out and didn't unmold it until over 4hrs later, maybe even more like 5, so maybe the moisture somehow continued to accumulate at the pan surfaces during its prolonged confinement. It certainly wasn't underbaked, or overbaked; I think the crumb was just right. Next time I'll stay home and unmold it more promptly. Since I never did a chiffon recipe before, I was wondering if the wetness was typical, but I bet the long rest in the pan was the error.

If I had nothing to do but bake, I could really nail all these details, but real life keeps getting in the way! Fern

[Wendy DeBord]

Sorry Fernwood I don't know why that happened, perhaps someone else here will know. I'm pretty sure that holding it in the pan for a longer time with-out unpanning wouldn't cause that. I've left cakes in pans for multiple hours and never had anything similar happen. Nor do I think it was your pan, I've used very cheap thin tube pans too and found them to work as well as more pricey pans for these types of cakes.

I think this remains a mystery for now.

[Patrick S]

Wendy, did you ever try the RLB lemon chiffon? If so, what did you think? It occurred to me that in my quest for the perfect lemon cake, I hadnt tried a chiffon.

[Wendy DeBord]

To tell you the truth, I got side tracked totally and never did make it. I'm glad you brought this up because I have some free time now where I can give it a go.

[Patrick S]

I'm trying my hand at it right now. Just got the cake in the oven. I would have made it before, but after the first two RLB recipes I tried, I was slightly disappointed and didnt look at the Cake Bible for a while. It was only after a tried a banana chiffon that it occurred to me that lemon chiffon could be just what Im looking for. So maybe the third recipe will be the charm. I used about twice as much zest, and replaced 2tb of the water with 2tb of juice. I have a feeling that if I had only used 1tb zest and 2tb juice as the recipe calls for, it wouldnt be as lemony as I'd like. I'll let you know what I think of it!

[chiantiglace]

Wendy, I haven't made this one in about 4 years, but I remember liking it more than Bo Friburgs.

8 oz/227 g - cake flour

10.5 oz/300 g - granulated sugar, divided

1/2 tsp/2.5 g - baking soda

1/2 tsp/ 3.35 g - salt

4 liq oz/119 ml - peanut oil

4.5 oz / 128 g - egg yolks

6 liq oz/177 ml - water

3 tbsp /45 ml - lemon juice

2 tbsp/12 g - grated lemon zest

1.5 tsp/3 g vanilla extract

10.5 oz/298 g - egg whites

1 tsp/3 g - cream of tartar

1) Preheat 325degrees

2) Line half sheet pan with parchment

3) In mixer with paddle, combine flour, 8 oz of sugar, baking soda and salt

4) Add oil, yolks, water, lemon juice, zest and vanilla; beat until smooth

5) Using the whisk, beat whites to soft peaks; beat in cream of tartar

6) Add remaining sugar and beat until stiff peaks form

7) Fold meringue into batter; scrape into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until center springs back to the touch.

[Patrick S]

I just had my first taste of the Lemon Glow Chiffon from the Cake Bible. The verdict? Its a hit. It may be my new favorite lemon cake. Its very spongy, but not so light that it disappears in your mouth. Moist, but 'durable' too. Unwimpy lemon flavor, but like I said, I doubled the zest and the juice. Its good all by itself, but I had just enough lemons left over to make another batch of Herme lemon cream (Have I mentioned in the last 5 minutes how that stuff is more addictive than crack? No? Well, it is.)

Question: What do PCs do with chiffon cakes? I mean, do you typically glaze them or fill them, or do you usually leave them as is? Just trawling for ideas.

[chiantiglace]

Fill them. Lemon Chiffon isn't big in the resturaunt. I think people like Wendy and Anne use chiffon a lot more than a resturaunt PC, because it just isnt that great for plated desserts.

[Wendy DeBord]

I make everything imaginable in the way of sweets, from plated desserts to take-out b-day cakes to truffles, centerpeices, sticky rolls and doughnuts.

A lemon chiffon cake would be something I'd make for my bridge luncheon ladies, with some of Herme's lemon cream and berries.........they'd be pretty happy.

[Patrick S]

A lemon chiffon cake would be something I'd make for my bridge luncheon ladies, with some of Herme's lemon cream and berries.........they'd be pretty happy.

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I'll say! This is my new 'go to' lemon dessert. For the past couple of months, I've been looking for the best way to use that lemon cream. I tried it in sweet tart shells, phyllo cups, puff pastry, but it works so, so good with the chiffon cake.

[nightscotsman]

Hey - this is a family site. Watch the pornography there, bub.

[sanrensho]

I just had my first taste of the Lemon Glow Chiffon from the Cake Bible. The verdict? Its a hit. It may be my new favorite lemon cake. Its very spongy, but not so light that it disappears in your mouth. Moist, but 'durable' too. Unwimpy lemon flavor, but like I said, I doubled the zest and the juice. Its good all by itself, but I had just enough lemons left over to make another batch of Herme lemon cream

I've been meaning to make this recipe for quite some time. I finally made it yesterday as per Patrick's adjustments, with double the juice but not quite double the zest. I did reduce the sugar by about two tablespoons.

Moistness and sweetness is just about perfect, and also quite sliceable as you mention. This is a perfect "summer" cake, very light and good on its own. The great thing about chiffon cakes is being able to eat multiple large slices of cake without it feeling too heavy.

Edited August 10, 2006 by sanrensho (log)

[LittleIsland]

Do you find chiffon layers sink under filling? I'd like to fill this cake with lemon curd (posted on the Lemon Curd thread, looking for a firm-ish curd) and some sort of lemon cream.

But when I once filled a chocolate chiffon cake with mousse etc. the layers compressed - maybe I'd done something wrong - but it's scared me a little off filling chiffon cakes.

What's the secret, if there is one? If I were to fill the centre with a curd and a cream, and top it again with cream and curd, do you think RLB's chiffon cake would stand up under it or compress or slip under all that weight? And, how many layers do you think I could reasonably create (looking at 3) without having layers slip out from underneath? Remembering the tropical heat I'm working in averages about 30 - 33 deg C.

Edited September 6, 2006 by LittleIsland (log)

[TraciiTVCL]

Thank you Patrick for this picture. I was not sure about the height.

[Patrick S]

Do you find chiffon layers sink under filling?  I'd like to fill this cake with lemon curd (posted on the Lemon Curd thread, looking for a firm-ish curd) and some sort of lemon cream. 

But when I once filled a chocolate chiffon cake with mousse etc. the layers compressed - maybe I'd done something wrong - but it's scared me a little off filling chiffon cakes.

What's the secret, if there is one?  If I were to fill the centre with a curd and a cream, and top it again with cream and curd, do you think RLB's chiffon cake would stand up under it or compress or slip under all that weight?  And, how many layers do you think I could reasonably create (looking at 3) without having layers slip out from underneath?  Remembering the tropical heat I'm working in averages about 30 - 33 deg C.

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As I recall, this cake was more than sturdy enough to support some lemon curd.

[iii_bake]

Do you find chiffon layers sink under filling?  I'd like to fill this cake with lemon curd (posted on the Lemon Curd thread, looking for a firm-ish curd) and some sort of lemon cream. 

But when I once filled a chocolate chiffon cake with mousse etc. the layers compressed - maybe I'd done something wrong - but it's scared me a little off filling chiffon cakes.

What's the secret, if there is one?  If I were to fill the centre with a curd and a cream, and top it again with cream and curd, do you think RLB's chiffon cake would stand up under it or compress or slip under all that weight?  And, how many layers do you think I could reasonably create (looking at 3) without having layers slip out from underneath?  Remembering the tropical heat I'm working in averages about 30 - 33 deg C.

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As I recall, this cake was more than sturdy enough to support some lemon curd.

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Great picture and Thanks.

I am bad at foam cake and would like to try this...

what pan did you bake in? and what is the approximate height of the finished cake?

Any warning before i jump in?

Thnks

[reenicake]

I just wish to say, lovely execution on the chiffon with lemon curd. I like RLB's recipe to turn out a light sliceable cake to serve with fruit.

Just surprised nobody mentioned baking chiffon in regular pans to split and fill like a regular cake. To my mind, it is the happy medium of genoise-lightness (of a foam cake) and butter cake moistness (given that is has as much fat as these.) I still douse it with boozy syrup, but just for flavor.

For lemon and orange chiffon, I use a modification of the formula in Wayne Gisslen's Professional Baking. In comparison to RLB, it has less whites so more backbone to support filling. It tiers great -- I know from experience. Did 6 tiers on national television (Grand Marnier syrup, filled with blueberry and mascarpone, iced with white choc ganache buerre, chocolate and gumpaste decs) and they stood up.