Moist, billowy, light as a feather, and perfumed with fresh orange juice and zest, this is an incomparably refreshing cake. If you live in a part of the world where oranges grow, you could not ask for a more appropriate and aromatic adornment than orange blossoms, but fresh daisies also convey the lighthearted spirit of this lovely cake. A serving contains only 129 mg. of cholesterol.
Ingredients
Makes 14 servings
Equipment:
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Step 2
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, all but 2 tablespoons of the sugar, baking powder, and salt and beat 1 minute to mix. Make a well in the center. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla and beat 1 minute or until smooth.
Step 3
In another large mixing bowl beat the egg whites until frothy, add the cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter with a large balloon wire whisk, slotted skimmer, or angel food cake folder until just blended.
Step 4
Pour into the tube pan (the batter will come to 1 inch from the top), run a small metal spatula or knife through the batter to prevent air pockets, and bake for 55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center. Invert the pan, placing the tube opening over the neck of a soda or wine bottle to suspend it well above the counter, and cool the cake completely in the pan (this takes about 1 1/2 hours).
Step 5
Loosen the sides with a long metal spatula and remove the center core of the pan. Dislodge the bottom and center core with a metal spatula or thin, sharp knife. (A wire cake tester works well around the core. To keep the sides attractive, press the spatula against the sides of the pan and avoid any up-and-down motion.) Invert onto a greased wire rack and reinvert onto a serving plate. Wrap airtight.
Finished Height:
Step 6
4 1/2 inches high in the middle.
Store:
Step 7
3 days room temperature, 10 days refrigerated, 2 months frozen.
Complimentary Adornments:
Step 8
A light sprinkling of powdered sugar and/or decorate the base and center with orange blossoms or fresh daisies. Candied orange zest scattered on top also makes an attractive and flavorful addition.
Serve:
Step 9
Room temperature or lightly chilled. Cut with a serrated knife.
Pointers for Success:
Step 10
• Usecake flourthat does not contain leavening. Do not use self-rising cake flour.
Step 11
• Use superfine sugar for the finest texture and maximum volume.
Step 12
• Measure or weigh ingredients carefully.
Step 13
• Do not use oil that contains silicates — it will be listed on the label.
Step 14
• Egg whites must be free of even a trace of yolk and the bowl must be spotless.
Step 15
• When beating egg whites, use cream of tartar or be careful to beat just until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly.
Step 16
• Fold flour gently butthoroughlyinto the batter.
Step 17
• Prevent air pockets by running a small metal spatula or knife through the batter before baking.
Step 18
• Use the correct pan size.
Step 19
• Bake immediately after mixing.
Step 20
• Check for accurate oven temperature.
Step 21
• Use correct baking time; do not underbake.
Step 22
• Cool cakes upside down, well elevated from the countertop, in a draft-free area.
Step 23
• Wrap cakes well when cool.
Step 24
• An angel food cake folder, large balloon whisk, or slotted skimmer is ideal for folding in the flour with the least amount of air loss. If using the whisk, periodically shake out the batter which collects inside.
Leave a Review
Reviews (19)
Back to TopI have made this cake probably 4-6 times, and love it. Every time I have inverted it over a bottle. At least twice, I have either underbaked it, or done something wrong, and it's come out of the pan and ripped into several large ugly hunks. Both times, I just took the whipped cream and strawberries, and turned it into a weird little trifle. It all worked out and tasted fine. Making this again in a few weeks, and I think I'll probably try inverting it over a cooling rack, in case the cake falls out again. Despite my limited success, it tastes good enough to risk it.
LaureltQ
Seattle, WA
4/22/2014
mixing the whites to the right stage is what makes the chiffon cake a success, I bake chiffon cakes all the time, this one is delicious and really fluffy and light as a feather... recipes do not explain the egg-white mixing well ... it is important to reach the stiff peaks, but glossy stage... also folding carefully and softly is important...
Anonymous
Jordan
8/31/2012
This was great with a compote of sliced oranges, juice, and zest after homemade dim sum. Like angel food cake but richer and moister. I only needed two extra egg whites to make 1.25 cups total.
foodgroup
Cape Cod
3/7/2011
我为一个朋友的烤三种蛋糕wedding. They were beautiful and very light tasting, dusted with powdered sugar and garnished with reddish-orange roses and jumbo strawberries. Served with strawberries and creme anglaise. Fabulous recipe!
jmfreedly
Toledo, OH
1/9/2009
Turned out great! I made this recipe with unbleached all-purpose flour (weighed, not measured by volume). Also, I made only a half recipe, and baked it in a 9x13" pan, since I didn't have a tube pan. (A tube pan holds 16 cups, my pan holds 8.) It was perhaps a bit thin, but it cooked nicely.
Anonymous
oregon & maryland
3/10/2008
Very good texture and flavour. It took ten minutes longer to bake in my oven. Very nice with a tropical fruit salad on the side, I sprinkled it with icing sugar and it looked pretty.
Anonymous
New Liskeard
6/5/2006
very good to me.
Anonymous
ny
5/30/2006
Just delicious and beautiful. I also love all the chiffon cakes from the Cake Bible but this may be my favorite. I serve it w/ a tropical fruit honey "salad" and people just love it. It's perfect at the end of a heavy, spicy meal. I definitely use the superfine sugar and I have a angel food cake folder (from Vermont Country catalog) that makes the folding a breeze.
ptcaterer
PA
2/10/2005
This is a lovely spongecake. I found it the slightest bit plain with just powdered sugar (next time, I'd serve it with sweet berries and whipped cream). Not too sweet -- didn't follow the bottle cooling technique. Oh, and I used half sunflower/half canola oil and it was just fine (not worth buying another bottle of oil for one cake).
Anonymous
Poughkeepsie, NY
11/15/2004
This was delicious. A light and refreshing cake with delightful orange flavor. Of course I don't even want to know how many calories each slice has. Yes, I would make this again. The tips at the end of the recipe were very helpful.
Anonymous
VA
6/7/2004
This was a very delicious cake, very light and fluffy! I sprinkled it with powdered sugar and put about 5 daisies in the middle and about 8 around the bottom of the cake and it looked so cute!! Great for a spring party! I did not have the problem with inverting it over the wine bottle, although I did have to ask my boyfriend to help cause I was a bit too 'blonde' to figure it out. :o) But it sat like that for a good 2/3 hours while cooling and no problems.
Anonymous
Chandler, AZ
3/15/2004
Pointers for success: Do not follow the directions for inverting the cake over a bottle. After being precariously perched hovering over my counter, the cake came out with a nice plop not 5 minutes after coming out of the oven leaving rather large irregular shards of cake clinging to the pan. To add insult to injury the middle hole in the cake turned out as large as the wine bottle I had it inverted on. Some Cake bible! Needlessly long and arduous directions. Taste was too sweet - cut back a little on the sugar if you're going to attempt this recipe.
Anonymous
Vancouver, BC
9/22/2003
Extremely delicious and easy cake! It rose up beautifully, and the orange flavor was nicely pronounced. I served it with whipped cream and fresh berries to the delight of my family.
Anonymous
Brewer, ME
6/12/2003
The result was just great. I skipped vanilla, as we are not keen on it. I served a slice with fresh orange pulp, mango, banana and a bit of honey.
Anonymous
Taipei, Taiwan
5/25/2003
Excellent!! A cake I would definetly bake again. In my country I can´t find cake flour, so I used 2 1/8 cups of all purpuse flour and the result was great. I made a glaze of orange juice and powder sugar, and served each piece with fresh berries and Amaretto.
Anonymous
Guatemala City, Guatemala, Central America
3/18/2003
