Mulberry tea chiffon cake

https://youtu.be/kMHlSCvP1aw

Chiffon cake is my favorite cake of all time. It is incredibly light and tender while still being moist.

I have a recipe with me and it has been sitting in my list way long ago. Finally, I am getting everything right on how to make the chiffon cake after many attempts.

Chiffon cakes are very easy to make but you’ll need some practice to start making it right.

Mulberry tea chiffon cake

This chiffon cake is delicious on its own but I have made more special with adding mulberry tea.

Mulberry tea is made from the mulberry leaves that are hand-picked and dried in the sun. It is a natural, caffeine-free drink that is packed with vitamins and minerals.  

It tastes like green tea, and is used to prevent and treat many health conditions, including cold symptoms, wightloss, blood vessel problems, and diabetes.

It is traditional for a chiffon cake to be baked in a tube pan. However, it can also be baked as layers.

This cake recipe is not that sweet, so add more sugar if you like. This soft and fluffy chiffon cake is also my family’s all-time favorite dessert. It is perfectly suitable to pair with a comborting cup of mulberry tea.

Notes :

Is baking powder needed?

No. If you do not want to use baking powder when making chiffon cake, you may omit it. A chiffon cake is a type of foam cake in that an egg white foam (meringue) is folded into the batter to do a majority of the leavening. 

Method :

Preheat the oven to 170ºC. You will also need a 17cm (7”) chiffon cake pan.

(The best types are the aluminum ones with a removable base. Do not grease the mold because the cake needs to cling on the sides and center of the pan for support as it rises or it will collapse)

Put 2 tsp mulberry tea leaves in a food processor, grind them to fine powder.

Add 100ml boiled water to a bowl with 2 tbsp of loose tea leaves, steep 3 to 5 minutes. After cooling down, remove the tea leaves, use 60ml mulberry tea and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk 3 egg yolks and 28g sugar.

(Always crack the egg in a separate bowl to make sure any broken eggs will not contaminate the bulk of the whites. However, there should not be even a trace of yolk in the white as it will hinder the expansion while making the meringue.)

Add 60ml mulberry tea, 40g vegetable oil, powdered mulberry tea in the egg mixture and whisk all together until combined.

Sift 75g self-raising flour into the egg mixture in 3 increments. Whisk until totally imcorporated and make sure there are no lumps

 Add 3 egg whites to a large bowl (The egg white should be at room temperature while making the meringue. Use a clean class or stainless steel bowl to keep the egg whites. Wipe the bowl with paper towels to make sure that it is free of oil) Using a hand held mixer, whip the egg whites on medium-low speed till opaque, foamy and bubbly.

Add 1/3 of the remaining sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

Using a spatula, fold in 1/4 of the egg whites to the batter until the mixture is homogeneous.

Fold in the rest of egg whites, mix gently until the mixture is homogeneous.

(Mix the ingredients in one direction until it is free from any visible lumps. The final batter should have a very smooth texture)

Pour the batter into the ungeased 17cm(7”) chiffon cake pan in same location to prevent from foaming more bubbles. To remove or prevent air pockets before baking, drop the pan gently a few times.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed.

Once baked, Invert the pan immediately to cool completely before unmolding.

Dust icing sugar on top, if you like.

Enjoy!