A chef once told me that you need to have a little stubbornness or “never say die” attitude when it comes to baking. I do count myself lucky that most of them I get it right in the first trial except the “naughty” chiffon cake that have really tested my patience. I have this hate and love relationship with chiffon, on one hand I enjoy making chiffon, despite not quite successful attempt, I find that the preparation is relatively easy and the 2 most crucial point is beating of egg whites and folding in the yolk mixture, taking care not to to deflate the bubbles. It’s light, easy to eat and the chiffon won’t stay on the kitchen table for more than 2 days. On the other hand, when is it the right time to stop beating the egg white? How to fold in without deflating the bubbles? and the most difficult part for me is how to control my oven temperature. Mine being a microwave/convention type which the top heating element is hotter than usual is driving me to find ways to control that. Most of the time, the top crack faster than usual and I always end up with crack chiffon top. While some said it is alright to have a crack chiffon top but I’ve seen perfect chiffon top that I really want to achieve. So this round I build a tent for it, not covering directly on the tin top as I don’t want the surface to stick to the aluminium foil or holding the rising back, I use the second tier tray that comes with the oven and put a layer of silicone baking paper on top. I suppose greaseproof paper will do too. I didn’t want to use aluminium foil as I thought it might be too strong and block too much heat. I’m so glad to see that the cake rose steadily throughout without a single crack! and when it collapse, it flatten well. So now the next step is how not to let the cake collapse so much?
My chiffon tin is actually pretty small – 17cm! I love this size and is good for a small family.
I like the formation of the cake, the small little holes that is supporting the cake structure.
e's joie 
Hi Elyn, your chiffon cake looks so delicious!
I have problem with my oven temperature too…and it is too small…the top gets burnt easily as it is so near the heating element 😦
Hi SH, thanks! That’s the problem with small oven!
Elyn, found out that LG Solardom does good chiffon cakes, sponge cakes but not with butter cakes. 😦 I’m going to junk my LG by year end and get a new oven!
Hi Gina, hm .. would you be able to elaborate more that? like how do you tell that it bake chiffon and sponge cake better than butter cake? I’ve tried with butter cake and I thought it’s baking better than chiffon?
With butter cake, if you bake using a loaf tin(long) it bakes well. If you use Square tin, round tin, centre is not baked. With Sponge cake and chiffon cake, no matter what shape of tin I used, it comes out perfectly baked. My last few bakes with butter cake leaves me a very angry person! 😦 Its just too much guess work. I realised that I bought it for Roasting meats, grilling seafood and MW food. Not so for baking. you really need to experiment to get it right.
elyn your chiffon looks lovely 🙂 i don’t hv prob with my microwave/convection so i didnt realize the top is actually hotter? hmm. anyway i baked a chiffon after buying my KA and it didnt crack, but the insides were damp & a little uncooked 😦 it’s my 1st time baking a chiffon so i havent learnt how to judge. i poked a wooden stick in there and it came out clean, so i tot it was cooked.
also i made the biscotti, but not sure why after the initial bake of 35 mins, the insides were soft n cake-like. so when i sliced them, they crumbled and i only managed to salvage a few pcs. do u think the double acting powder has something to do with it? actually i was wondering why do we need to use that since we’re baking cookies/biscuits and not cake. hence is there a need to make the cookies “rise” better? but the recipe is good so i’ll make it again, with a variation nx time and bake a little longer =) btw any idea if fresh fruits can be added to the biscotti eg. raspberries or only dried fruits? thx!
Hm .. strange. I always bake butter cake in 7″ round tin, the last one I did was last week and it’s alright. Probably different oven react differently even thou it’s the same model. I guess for baking a solely convention oven work best!
My oven is small and I hate to bake cakes (other than cupcakes) coz it’s difficult to control the heat. =( Nevertheless, your chiffon cake looks great!
Hi Evan, thanks 🙂 I still hoping to improve the height of the cake thou 🙂 Not every oven behave in the same way, each will vary. If you use an oven thermometer, you may find that it varies from the temperature that you set too. That’s what I discover when using mine and I read that this is kinda common for microwave/convention oven. I’m no expert but when the insides are damp, you could bake a little longer or it could be the temperature is too low. I’ve some helpful links in the earlier Matcha Chiffon Cake post, do take a look. To check whether the cake is ready, you have to poke in between the tube and rim, you could also take reference on where it is uncooked previously and do a check there the next time when you bake.
About the biscotti, after the first 35 mins the surface should be a little firm to the touch and golden brown if you’re baking non-chocolate. You could also check on the base, it should look crisp and dry like a cookie. Yes, the inside is soft but not cake-like. I cut my biscotti when it’s still lukewarm and uses a serrated knife, using the sawing method to create the opening and press the knife down firmly to cut the biscotti. I don’t think it’s due to the double-acting powder, I just baked another batch today and every piece came out clean and crisp, it wasn’t difficult to cut. I guess the usage of baking powder in the cookie is to have it more puffy? Sorry, I din read anywhere that we could use fresh fruits so I can’t answer that :P. You could check back asianfoodchannel for Anna’s original recipe, I find hers is more complicating.
Hi Bernice, you could get a smaller chiffon tin. Mine is just a 7″ from Phoon Huat, I remember seeing Daiso have really small chiffon tins too. I prefer to bake smaller cakes more on the consumption purpose, don’t have to keep for so many days. I think it’s more of understanding your oven, I actually sat in front of the oven and observe the baking process so I know where is the hot spot, when the cake start to crack then think how to solve it. Do not be despair, keep trying. I’ve baked many chiffon, trying variation each time before I get it. Jia you!
Elyn, I suspect its dying on me. At the rate I am using it, if it last me till year end, its value for money. It will be 3 years old by then. my ex boss, Pauline’s LG SD lasted her only 2 years. Her current one is her no. 2. For me, I am not considering getting another LG.
Gina, oh yes .. you are using it more frequently but it looks sturdy and it’s still so expensive, I just saw Harvey Norman selling at S$917. Putting aside baking, I think it is excellent for cooking. Same here, I will prefer to get a solely convention oven the next time if I need to change it.
yes, Elyn, its an EXCELLENT oven for Roasting meats for my yearly ritual for Christmas with my family. Comes out perfectly done. Medium rare..juicy and so good. I love the way it ‘steams’ a big pomfret fish in 3 mins in MW mode. 🙂 maybe I will keep it just for cooking. Baking will have to depend on my new oven
Hi Elyn, your chiffon looks really good. I have the same experience with baking chiffon in my MV/convection oven. I’ll definitely try your method when I bake my next chiffon. I hope the taller rack will be tall enough. Oh, just 1 question, how did u secure the grease-proof paper, was it really long?
Hi Yuri, I use the silicone baking paper cos that is what I have on hand and cut to shape, I think as long as it is of a thinner material than it should be fine. This one is slightly heavier than greaseproof paper and mine isn’t a fan oven so it din “fly” away. I din cover the full area, just right above the chiffon tin. Hope this help and hope to see yours soon!
Hi Elyn, the chiffon cake looks great! I still have not found the solution to the crack top yet. Still have to get used to my oven. I cant tent it with baking paper, will fly away. ahah.. 😀
i love the pics of your cakes. look so lovely and yummy.. 🙂
Hi JY, thanks for your kind words 🙂