Makes one 23-cm chiffon cake

Ingredients

• Cake flour 260 g
  
• Baking powder 1½ tsp
  
• Salt ½ tsp
  
• Egg yolks 7, medium, at room temperatyre
• Golden castor sugar 140 g +120 g
• Corn oil 120 ml
• Very ripe cempedak 5–6 pieces,
  blended to get 100 g purée
• Water 2 Tbsp
• Rose water 2 tsp
• Egg whites 8, medium, at room temperature
• Cream of tartar 1 tsp

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 170°C. Prepare a 23-cm tube pan. Do not grease pan.
• Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt together 3 times.
• Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat egg yolks, 140 g sugar, corn oil, cempedak purée, water, rose water and flour mixture together at medium speed for about 4 minutes until smooth. Set aside.
• Using a whisk attachment and a grease-free bowl, whisk egg whites at medium speed for 1 minute, then add cream of tartar and increase speed to high. Beat for 30 seconds, then gradually add 120 g sugar and whisk for 3–4 minutes until stiff peaks form. The meringue should be firm and glossy, not dry.
• Using a metal spatula, fold half the egg white meringue into egg yolk mixture. When incorporated, continue to fold in the remaining egg white meringue. Do this gently but quickly.
• Pour batter into the ungreased tube pan. Gently tap the pan on a hard surface to release any air bubbles. Smoothen the surface of the batter with the back of a metal spoon.
• Place tube pan at the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Lower the temperature to 150°C and bake for another 40 minutes or until cake is golden brown and springy to the touch. Cover the top of the cake with aluminium foil if the cake browns too quickly after 30 minutes of baking.
• Remove cake from oven and immediately invert pan. Let cake cool completely in inverted pan before removing. Takes about 2 hours.
• To remove cake from pan, run a knife around the side of tube pan and centre core, then around the base. Allow cake to sit for a day before serving. This cake will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature.
  

Note:

Rose water is very aromatic and can be used as a flavour enhancer when baking cakes.

Contributor details

Source: Published by Marshall Cavendish, AllanBakes: Really Good Cakes retails for ($32 before GST) and is available at all major bookstores.