Citrus Chiffon Cake with Citrus Frosting

 Sometimes things don’t always go your way. The promotion and/or raise doesn’t happen, something is broken and needs fixing at home, an opportunity passes by. Sometimes it gets you down. The same thing happens in the pastry world. A souffle falls, cracked and ‘footless’ macarons, mousse doesn’t set, cakes stick to the pan. This cake is my dilemma.

So what should I do when a delicious cake, that supposedly doesn’t need a greased pan, doesn’t come out properly? Cover it with frosting! Put on a happy face and cover up the mess. Sometimes that is the best solution – the only solution.

Nothing was wrong with the cake, other than the fact that it didn’t come out easily and the top looked ugly. It was devoured in a day by co-workers, but I am still disappointed. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am. So back to the drawing board. It’s tart and sweet at the same time. Some people might think it too heavy for a chiffon cake, but I kind of like it.

“Most of us are acutely aware of our own struggles and we are preoccupied with our own problems. We sympathize with ourselves because we see our own difficulties so clearly. Ian MacLaren noted, ‘Let us be kind to one another, for most of us are fighting a hard battle.'”

Citrus Chiffon Cake
Citrus Chiffon Cake adapted from About Professional Baking
Citrus Frosting is a Love & Confections original recipe

Citrus Chiffon Cake Ingredients:
 – 255 grams sifted Cake Flour
 – 50 grams Granulated Sugar #1
 – 12 grams Baking Powder
 – 3 grams Salt
 – 120 milliliters Canola Oil
 – 95 grams Egg Yolks, room temperature
 – 120 milliliters cold, freshly squeezed Orange Juice
 – 30 milliliters freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
 – 30 milliliters freshly squeezed Lime Juice
 – 12 grams Orange Zest
 – 12 grams Lemon Zest
 – 12 grams Lime Zest
 – 224 grams Egg Whites, room temperature
 – 1 gram Cream of Tartar
 – 255 grams Granulated Sugar #2

Citrus Frosting Ingredients:
 – 113 grams unsalted Butter (1 stick)
 – 300 grams Powdered Sugar, sifted
 – 1 tablespoon Lime Juice
 – 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
 – 3 tablespoons Orange Juice

Citrus Chiffon Cake Directions:
 – Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before starting. Preheat oven to 310F. Zest, then juice Oranges, Lemons and Limes. If using a false-bottom tube pan, do not grease – as per the original recipe instructions. I chose to use a bundt pan and neglected to grease it – hence the cake fail. If using a bundt pan, I suggest greasing it and cutting the recipe down by 1/3.
 – Sift together Cake Flour, Granulated Sugar #1, Baking Powder and Salt into a medium mixing bowl.
 – Whisk in Oil, Egg Yolks, Juices and Zest and blend until smooth.
 – Whip Egg Whites in an extremely clean bowl of your stand mixer until foamy. Add in Cream of Tartar and whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add in Granulated Sugar #2 and whip until stiff peaks form.
 – Whisk 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the cake batter to “lighten”.
 – Gently fold in the remaining egg whites in two additions with a rubber spatula, being careful not to over-mix and deflate the whites.
 – Pour the batter into your chosen cake pan and bake for 30-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean – time depends on the size of your pan and the amount of batter used
 – If using a tube pan with metal tabs, cool upside-down, if using a bundt pan, let it cool right-side-up – you can attempt to turn it upside-down if you dare.

Citrus Frosting Directions:
 – Melt Butter over medium-low heat.
 – While butter is melting, whisk together the Powdered Sugar and Lime, Lemon and Orange Juices until combined.
 – While whisking, pour melted butter over the sugar juice mixture. If you don’t use it immediately, the frosting starts to crust – just re-whisk to smooth it out.
 – Pour over Chiffon Cake and enjoy!

Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for this post in regards to the external links – I just happen to love the product. All opinions are my own.