Just like Cotton Chiffon Cake

 


I've got absolutely no story for this. None at al!! All I'm saying is, I saw this wonderful cake yesterday at Anh's wonderful blog, and decided there and then, that I would make it today. Now you'll be thinking that it's no big deal, but here in the YB kitchen, every baking experiment, every idea is well thought out and planned a few days ahead. So this was a pretty rare occurence. I'm rebelling! Savor it!





The pictures of were enough to entice me, and I always wanted to try making such a cake. I bought the ingredients yesterday, and made + devoured it today! It's just so wonderfully light, with a hint of lemon, it's just dreamy! As my lovely tasters said, it's like a gush of air in your mouth! You can literally gobble up the entire thing, and it will barely make a dent in your appetite! It's perfect to satisfy those cravings that occur when you're trying to lose weight, since there's not too much fat in it either!


So anyway, this is super easy to make, it took less than half an hour to prep, and it tastes wonderful. Usually you would serve this with some cream, or strawberries, or something, but I just loved gulping it down plain. And it doesn't induce gagging like some other light cakes do, particularly angel food cake, which I have yet to try and bake. The only difference between the two is that this one involves egg yolks, and is thus a richer, more interesting cake.



 Look how soft it is. I lightly pressed it, and it almost reduced to half its size!!!


You start off by making a roux. First, we boil sugar with milk and oil to dissolve it. Then, we add flour and whisk to form the roux, which is essentially a thick paste.




While the roux cools down, separate the eggs and add the yolks and add them in to form a more batter-ish looking mixture. I added 6 eggs, because 3 of them were tiny!!




In a clean bowl, using the whisk attachment on your mixer, beat the eggs till glossy, and add the sugar about a spoon at a time, until you reach soft peaks as above. The cream of tartar stablizes and increases the volume of the egg whites, so it's good to use it, however you can skip it if you want.




Mix in the first 1/3rd of the whites into the yolks mixture to lighten it all, and then gently fold in the rest. Now your batter is ready to be poured into your chosen pans and baked for 35 minutes.



If you're using a tube pan, you can invert it, otherwise you can improvise, like I did.




P.S - And in other news, I topped my college in my final semester! Yes, that is big news, very big news actually, but I'm playing it down because a few friends didn't score too well. But you can congratulate me here, that'll make me feel great ;)


Just like Cotton Chiffon Cake


Note : All the ingredients were originally given in weights, I've converted them to volume measurements as best I could, but I highly suggest getting yourself a nice weighing scale and following the weights, not just for this recipe, but for all your baking endeavours.




55 g [1/4 cup] fresh milk
50 g [1/4 cup] vegetable oil
40 g [3 tbsp] sugar
60 g [1/2 cup - 2 tbsp] plain flour
5 egg yolks
1 tbsp vanilla extract / one vanilla bean
Zest of 2 whole lemons - Feel free to experiment with flavours, but remember, this a light cake, keep your flavourings light too!
5 egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar, optional
60 g [4 1/2 tbsp] sugar


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160 C [320 F]. Lay out an ungreased tube pan, or any other greased pans you choose to use. [I used a simple small bundt pan, and poured the leftover into cupcake moulds, yours will fit in a normal sized bundt, don't worry]
2. In a large saucepan, mix together the milk, oil and sugar, and bring to a soft boil, until the sugar dissolves.
3. Immediately dump in the flour and stir constantly until it forms a soft paste, i.e a roux.
4. While the flour mixture is coming down to room temperature, separate your eggs, and then add the yolks into the mixture, stirring well to incorporate. Mix in the vanilla and the lemon zest.
5. In a clean bowl, using the whisk, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar [if using] until they are glossy. Add the sugar in 5-6 additions, whisking well between each addition. You want to achieve nice soft peaks.
6. Mix1/3rd of the whites into the yolks mixture, to lighten the yolks.
7. Gently fold in the remaining 2/3rd of the whites, taking care not to deflate. Pour into prepared pans, filling no more than halfway. 
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and cool upside down, if possible. The cake might collapse just a little bit, but that's ok.
9. Serve with cream and berries, or even plain.

Doesn't that look heavenly? Make it, it hardly takes any time, and a major plus is, not too much fat.

This post is submitted to My Baking Addiction's round-up. Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla.