When Maxence and I lived in California around the turn of the century, we loved a small Mountain View shop called Hong Kong Bakery. Its Chinese-style pastries all seemed exotic at first; we tried many until we found our favorite: the chiffon cake.
If you’ve never tried chiffon cake, imagine eating a cloud — a light, moderately sweet, gently eggy bite that collapses softly on the tongue. It resembles angel food cake in its airiness, but chiffon includes egg yolks, giving it a richer texture and more satisfying mouthfeel.
If you’ve never had chiffon cake, you can start by imagining what it might feel like to eat a cloud — a fluffy, moderately sweet, and lightly eggy cloud that would deflate in your mouth with a moist sigh.
Traditionally, chiffon cake is baked in an ungreased tube pan so the batter has walls to climb and rise higher. In Chinese bakeries, however, it often appears as a more charming paper-wrapped cake — a single-serving treat baked in a tall metal tumbler lined with thin paper.
That method makes unmolding quick for the baker, but the real pleasure is yours: peeling the paper away from the cake as you eat, a small ritual of satisfaction akin to removing the protective plastic from a new phone screen.
I don’t own a tube pan (French bakeware rarely includes one; the closest relative is a savarin mold), nor do I have tall metal tumblers, but years ago I read on my friend Chika’s blog that chiffon cake can be baked in unwaxed paper cups.
Chika kindly translated the recipe from a Japanese source, and earlier this summer I finally tried it. My cakes rose well and developed a delicate crust that contrasted nicely with their spongy crumb. We enjoyed them as perfect summer treats, and I plan to bake another batch once my kitchen renovations are finished — this time lining the paper cups with parchment so I can reuse them and reduce waste. And yes, I remain fond of these little “stripper cakes.”
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Makes 14 cup-sized cakes.
Ingredients
- 130 grams (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) soft flour (pastry flour, cake flour, or type 45 flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 medium egg yolks (reserve whites for below)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) water
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil (olive oil works well)
- 6 medium egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Prepare 14 sturdy unwaxed 120-ml (1-cup) paper cups and do not grease them.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together three times, or place them in a sealed freezer bag with plenty of air and shake vigorously to aerate. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, salt, vanilla, and 75 grams (6 tablespoons) of the sugar until pale and ribboning. Stir in the water and oil, whisking between additions. Fold in the flour mixture and mix until combined, taking care not to overwork the batter.
- In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites with 60 grams (5 tablespoons) of the sugar until stiff peaks form. An electric mixer or stand mixer is helpful; any fat on bowl or whisk will prevent the whites from rising properly.
- Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the yolk batter to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites with a rubber spatula, lifting the batter to keep as much air as possible.
- Spoon the batter into the paper cups to about 3/5 full and sprinkle the tops with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake about 30 minutes until set and golden. Invert the cups on a cooling rack so the cakes don’t collapse and cool completely. To unmold, run a knife around the cup’s inside, then shake gently until the cake releases.
- Serve the cakes plain in their cups, or accompany them with fruit salad, a drizzle of berry coulis, or a scoop of ice cream.
Notes
- Refer to flour resources if you need details on pastry, cake, or type 45 flours.
- You can also bake this batter in an ungreased tube pan (not nonstick); increase baking time to 40–50 minutes.