Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Almond Chiffon Cake

For our family gathering last Sunday I whipped up a almond chiffon cake. As you might remember from my previous pandan cake I had a little trouble unmolding the cake without ruining it's appeal. So I was a bit worried about the outcome. I knew it would taste great, I just wasn't sure it would look it. However it was a 90% success. The sides came out perfectly, but I had a little fumble with the top. Fortunately I was able to cover it up just fine, so no one ever noticed :)

To make the cake I just adapted my pandan cake recipe to make it almondy.
Ingredients:
5 egg yolks (I used medium eggs)
50 gr caster sugar
90 gr milk
60 gr vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt
100 gr cake flour (90 gr flour+10 gr cornflour)
30 gr dried almond pulp (or another 30 gr flour)

5 egg whites (I used medium eggs)

65 gr caster sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
I used a 22 cm chiffon pan.


Instructions:

Preheat your oven at 170 C.

Sieve the cake flour with the almond pulp and set aside.

Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl and whisk the yolks a little. Add in sugar and whisk till the mixture turns pale and thick. 
While mixing gradually add the milk. Next slowly add the vegetable oil and continue mixing. Now add vanilla extract, almond extract and salt and continue mixing. 
Sieve over the flour and mix till it is fully incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix. Set aside.

In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Then add half of the sugar and turn to high speed, continue adding the rest of the sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage. Do NOT beat until stiff, it is much easier to fold in the egg whites in soft-peak-stage.
Now gently fold in the egg whites into the egg yolk batter, try to do so in three additions, until you have a fluffy and well blended batter. FOLD, do not mix!

Sprinkle some almond flakes in your chiffon pan and pour your batter on top. Do NOT grease the pan. Tap the pan lightly to get rid of any trapped bubbles, then place pan in oven for about 35 minutes or until a inserted toothpick comes out clean. I increase the temperature a bit in the last 5 minutes to crust the sides a little extra. I find it helps when unmolding.

Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, turn it upside down/invert it/overturn it and leave to cool completely. Make sure the cake is not to close to your tabletop so the condensation does not harm it.

After cake is cooled completely, run a knife around all edges and unmold. 
Cut a big slice and enjoy the fruits of your hard work!

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