Vanilla Chiffon Cake (video)
This classic chiffon cake is tender and light as air. It has the richness of a butter cake and the fluffiness of a sponge cake. Check out my easy method of making this wonderful and special cake that fits any occasion.
What is chiffon cake?
Chiffon cake is a type of foam cake, which has a high ratio of eggs to flour and is leavened mainly from the air beaten into the egg whites. It’s similar to an angel food cake, but instead of using just egg whites, chiffon cake recipes use the whole egg. This gives a richer and more flavorful taste to the cake, and there is no question of what to do with the leftover egg yolks. It’s also similar to a sponge cake which is basically just eggs, sugar, and flour, but there is oil added to the batter. This makes the texture of a chiffon cake more moist and silky which is why it’s my favorite type of cake out of the three. It’s a very light and simple, yet delicious cake. So it’s a nice change from all the heavy decadent desserts out there.
Why this recipe is so great:
Easy and no waste – There are many variations out there, but what I like about this recipe is that there are an even number of egg whites to egg yolks used, so there is no waste. I kept the flavoring simple with just vanilla, but you can add some lemon zest or a touch of almond extract as well. The rest of the ingredients are all your usual pantry staples. The method of this recipe is easier than most. The dry ingredients and all of the wet ingredients, except for the egg whites, are prepared in the same bowl. The meringue and the egg yolk batter are prepared using the same beaters. So there is no mixing of everything separately or using a bunch of different utensils. Here are some reviews:
“Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe. I made this cake today and turned out so perfect!! My First time to make a Chiffon Cake but this recipe did not fail me. So thank you very much.” – Ana
“Love this recipe, it’s simple and yields great results. No waste with the eggs too!! I’ve added different infusions such as pandan and every time it comes out perfect.” – Shaleen
How to make chiffon cake:
(the ingredient amounts are listed in the printable recipe card further below)
- You start by sifting the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Add the egg yolks, vegetable oil, water, and vanilla. Set aside.
- Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Using the same beaters, combine the egg yolk mixture until smooth.
- Fold in 1/4 of the egg whites into the egg yolk batter to lighten it up. Then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites in two equal parts until no white streaks remain.
- Pour the batter into an ungreased 10″ tube pan and bake at 325F for about 1 hour.
- Invert and let cool completely before unmolding.
Expert tips:
- Beat your egg whites to stiff peaks – Since the meringue is the main leavening agent in this cake, it is really important to take the time to beat your egg whites to stiff peaks to ensure your cake has a nice rise and fluffy texture. Once your egg whites reach medium peaks (a tip that folds over), continue beating but check often and once you reach stiff peaks (a tip that points straight) STOP. You don’t want to over-beat your egg whites. They could possibly break and will be harder to fold.
- Fold in stages – Start by folding in only 1/4 of the meringue into your egg yolk batter to lighten the density of the batter, making it easier to combine the rest. Then fold in the remainder of the meringue in two equal parts using an under-and-over motion with your rubber spatula. Be gentle so you maintain as much of the air bubbles as possible.
- Do not grease your tube pan – The batter needs to be able to stick to the sides of the pan to help it rise to its maximum height.
- Cool upside down – As soon as you remove it from the oven, flip the cake over and cool it upside down in the pan to prevent it from collapsing. The reason is the structure of the cake crumb is not stable until it’s completely cooled. Some tube pans have feet that you can flip and stand it on. You can also set the tube pan over a bottleneck or two drinking glasses like I did.
Substitutions:
- Cake flour – It’s best to use cake flour for the most tender and soft chiffon cake. You can make your own cake flour by mixing 2 cups of all-purpose minus 4 tablespoons mixed with 4 tablespoons of corn starch. If you don’t have cornstarch, you can use straight all-purpose flour in a pinch, but please note the texture of the cake won’t be as soft.
- Cream of tartar – You can substitute the 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar with 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice.
- Tube pans – It’s best to use a 10″ tube pan with a removable bottom. The shape of a tube pan is perfect for the height of this cake and the hole in the center actually helps it bake evenly. If using a tube pan without a removable bottom, you can grease the bottom of the pan (not the sides) to make it easier to remove the cake. You can also bake this chiffon cake in two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans. Just make sure they are at least 3″ deep and grease only the bottom of the pans. Once the cakes are done, cool upside down on a cooling rack.
FAQ:
- How to store chiffon cake – You can cover it in a sealed airtight container or tightly wrap in saran wrap and store it at room temperature for 3-4 days.
- Can you freeze chiffon cake? Yes, you can. Once completely cooled, tightly wrap in a layer of saran wrap and a layer of aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
You might also like:
- Chocolate Chiffon Cake
- Japanese Cheesecake
- Angel Food Cake
- Peaches and Cream Cake
- Vanilla Bean Magic Cake
You can serve this cake as is or with some whipped cream and fresh fruit. You can also cut it horizontally and make it into a layer cake with your favorite frosting. The choice is yours; just enjoy and have fun with it.
Did you make this recipe? Please kindly leave a comment with your star rating below.
PrintVanilla Chiffon Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 60 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This classic chiffon cake is tender and light as air. It has the richness of a butter cake and the fluffiness of a sponge cake.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (235g) cake flour
- 1&1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (12g) baking powder
- 1 tsp (5g) salt
- 7 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (125ml) vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup (188ml) cold water
- 1 tbsp (15ml) vanilla extract
- 7 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp (2g) cream of tartar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Make a well and add the egg yolks, vegetable oil, water, and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add in the cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Using the same beaters, beat the egg yolk batter. Scrape the bowl as needed. Beat until combined and smooth.
- Fold in 1/4 of the egg whites into the egg yolk batter to lighten it up. Then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites in two equal parts until no white streaks remain.
- Pour into an ungreased 10″ tube pan with removable bottom. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The top should be golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed.
- Let cool completely upside down. Unmold and serve. Slice using a serrated knife.
Notes
Leftovers can be stored in a sealed airtight container or tightly wrap in saran wrap and left at room temperature for 3-4 days.
You can also freeze chiffon cake once it’s completely cooled. Tightly wrap it in a layer of saran wrap and a layer of aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
See above in post for expert tips and substitutions.
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com. This post was originally published on June 16th, 2016 and has been recently updated with more information and step-by-step photo instructions.
Fo you have a recipe for 6×3. 8×3. And 10 ×3 pans? Thanks.
You can use this recipe for different size pans. Fill the pans only half full and adjust the baking time accordingly.
Hello,
How do I half the eggs if I’ll half the recipe? I only have a six inch pan. Thank you!
I would do 4 egg whites and 3 egg yolks. I hope you enjoy the cake and have a great day!
Thank you for this recipe! I wonder if I can use this cake for a tres leches cake? would it work? thank you
You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it. Yes, you can use this recipe for a tres leches cake. Just make sure to invert and let the cake cool completely before soaking it with milk. Enjoy and have a great week!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I have been trying to bake this cake correctly for 25 years. I had a few hand-written recipes that used the metric system and I could never get the conversions/proportions right. Your recipe is perfect. I only had one hiccup after baking yesterday. I inverted my cake for cooling, placed a wet dish towel over it, and after about 15 mins, it slid out and landed on the counter. I immediately picked it up and put it on a plate. Thank goodness, the cake was able to keep its height! 🙂 I want to bake this cake again soon, but I’m wondering where I went wrong? Is it because I used a non-stick 10″ tube pan or maybe the cooling towel was unnecessary? I did not grease the pan. Thank you for any help you can provide.
Hi Ursula,
I’m glad you were able to save the cake off the counter:) I don’t think the cooling towel was necessary. You did the right thing by not greasing the pan and mine is non-stick as well. Try it without the towel. I’m pretty sure that’s what went wrong.
Hi Lily!Â
I tried making this chiffon cake before and it was AMAZING. I was just wondering, how many cups of batter does this make? Â
I want to make this in a 6×3 inch round pan, and I think it holds 6 cups of batter…also, could I make this in one 6 inch pan? I only own one.Â
Thank you so much.Â
This recipe makes a lot of batter, I would say about 10 cups and the cake rises quite a bit, so you would need at least 2 deep cake pans. What did you use to make the cake before?
Hi Lily,Â
Thanks for replying. I used a tube pan. So maybe I should make about half of the recipe for two 6 inch cake pans, or I should make 1/4 the recipe for one 6-inch pan?Â
I would say half the recipe.
Also, my pan is nonstick. Because it’s nonstick, should I use parchment paper to line the sides or maybe aluminum foil…?
You can line the bottom for easy removal, but you don’t need to line or grease the side because you want the batter to be able to cling and climb up the sides for a good rise.
The oil it’s not in the procedure! Where do i put it ? And when ? Lol 😂Â
It’s in Step 2 “Sift the first 4 ingredients into a bowl. Make a well and add the next 4 ingredients. Set aside.”
The oil is one of the “next 4 ingredients”. My apologies that is not clear. Please let me know if you have any other questions:)
i have made this cake twice now and it’s absolutely amazing. do you know if I can adjust this recipe for a pandan chiffon cake? thanks
Thank you for your kind words, Julie! I think it would be easier to use a pandan chiffon cake recipe than to adjust this one, so here’s a great recipe from a trusted source for you: https://en.christinesrecipes.com/2011/06/pandan-chiffon-cake.html
I hope you like it:)
Hi, just would like to ask…in the recipe the sugar is one and a half cups, do we divide the sugar in half for the egg whites?
Thanks, from,
Audra
No, all of the sugar gets sifted along with the other dry ingredients. Only the cream of tartar gets beaten with the egg whites. I hope that helps and thank you for your question. Enjoy the cake!
I love how easy this recipe Is! I MADE A CHIFFON CAKE! And it turned out great! Thank you. This is one site I will go to!
You’re very welcome, Amy! I’m so glad you found it easy and it turned out great. Thank you for your lovely comment:)
I have been making this cake for 45 years from a re open passed down from my aunt. My husband likes fruit flans so my usual practice has been to split the batter by making it by pouring some into a fruit flan pan and the rest into a spring form pan, which I finish as a butter cream or mocha torte. I have never had a problem with this recipe except for the past two times when my cake made in the spring form pan raised in a big cavern on top then fell. Last time I greased the bottom of it and blamed it on that but this time it happened again and I would like to know why. This time I actually threw it in the garbage! My fruit flan cakes were fine both times. My recipe calls for 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour which has always worked for me but I recently purchased Costco’s organic flour and I’m wondering if using the different flour is the problem and if I need 2 cups of it as it appears to be finer than regular all purpose flour. Have you any suggestions for me?
Hi Angie,
I’m sorry to hear that your last batch was a waste. I would go with your gut instinct on this one. It makes sense that if the Costco flour seems finer that increasing it to 2 cups might help fix the problem. If everything else has remained the same and your cooling the cake upside down, then the different flour must be the issue. Please let me know the results the next time you make the cake. Have a great weekend!
I’ve just made thisÂ
Taste goodÂ
But I had half a chiffon onlyÂ
Top is light & fluffyÂ
Bottom is like a moist cakeÂ
Not sure what happened..
The egg whites and egg yolk batter wasn’t combined enough and separated during baking. Next time fold it a few more times and that should do the trick!
I have made this cake several times and it has turned out fantastic every time, my favourite cake so far. Â Is there any way I could make this into a chocolate cake at all?
Thank you for your kind words, Sarah!
To convert this recipe to a chocolate version:
-start by whisking together 3/4 cup boiling water, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder (optional) until smooth
-then preheat your oven and continue with the recipe as written, substituting the cold water with the cooled chocolate mixture.
I hope that helps and let me know if you have any question:)
Can I use all purpose instead of cake flour?Â
You can. I recommend substituting the cake flour with 1 3/4 cup AP flour mixed with 1/4 cup cornstarch (if you have) to keep the texture the same. Enjoy and have a great day!
Can you use a Bundt pan? If so, just grease the bottom? Thanks!
It will be hard to remove this cake from a bundt pan with all its curves and crevices. You’re better off using two (3″ deep) 8″ or 9″ round cake pans. I hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions.
This looks like a promising recipe so I’ll try making it in a few days. I have question about eggs. I usually have lots of egg whites after making custard. Would it be possible to use egg whites with sour cream (instead of yolks)? I think it has a similar amount of moisture and fat content but I wanna see what you think. Thanks!
Hi Youngus,
Unfortunately, you can’t substitute the egg yolks with egg whites in this recipe. You need the fat and richness from the yolks to make this cake moist and flavorful. Here’s a low-fat cheesecake recipe you can make to use up some of your egg whites: https://www.littlesweetbaker.com/low-fat-vanilla-bean-cheesecake-with-blueberry-compote/ I hope this helps and enjoy!
Hi I made this cake and I was amazed how soft the sponge was however it wasn’t lovely and light in colour like your picture, where could I have gone wrong . Hope to hear from you
KR
Max
Hi Maxine,
I don’t think you did anything wrong. I take my pictures in bright light, but naturally, the cake is a bit more yellow in color like in the video. The color of the cake also depends on the color of your egg yolks. I find free-range egg yolks tend to be darker in color than grain-fed. I hope that helps:)
I never comment on or rate recipes, but wowowow. I’ve been trying out several fluffy cake recipes and I found my two favorites. I was going to make one of those today but they both use only the egg whites. I already have 5 egg yolks in my fridge from the last recipe I tried, so I decided to look for one that used the whole egg. This recipe is my new favorite and I’ll  be making it any time I need a vanilla cake. It’s sooooo incredibly good. I planned on adding whipped cream and strawberries but the flavor was so good on its own that I couldn’t wait and just ate it. Definitely a gem.Â
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely comment, Yara! I’m so glad to hear that you like it that much:)
PS strawberries and whipped cream go very well with this cake.
Hi, what brand of flour do you use? I am in Vancouver and find the flour I buy here much more glutinous than back in south Africa. My usual recipes don’t work here.
I use Robin Hood flour brand for all my recipes. It still might differ from what you’re used to back in South Africa, but it will work for recipes designed here. I hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions:)
Thank you, I was overjoyed with the result of my chiffon cake, my very first time, it is easy to follow and i always tell people that when baking you should be relax and smiling and came out good. Thank you very much, love all your recipes, one at a time.
By the way is it ok to put mango puree in the eggyolk mixture? You are super good and love all your recipes, thank you. God bless!
You’re very welcome and thank you for your kind words, Edith! You could try to replace 1/2 cup of the water with mango puree and see if that works. Mango is challenging because you lose a lot of the flavor when you bake it. Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try. Stay safe and happy baking!
Thank you so much for the quick reply, going back to the vanilla chiffon cake, you mean instead of 3/4 water i will replace it with the same amount of fresh mango puree?
So I would use 1/2 cup mango puree plus 1/4 cup water instead of 3/4 cup water. This way it thins out the mango puree a bit and keeps the batter the same consistency. You could use 3/4 cup of mango puree for more flavor, but it would thicken up the batter a bit and I’m not sure how that would change the cake. It’s going to be a bit of an experiment, so up to you and let me know how it turns out:)
I will defnitely let you know the result, thank you again for your kind reply and help. Have a blessed weekend!
I’ve used this recipe many times and I usually don’t comment, but this recipe is really, really good! It hasn’t failed me the many times I’ve used it. Just make sure that your egg whites are at stiff peaks. Or else the batter will taste a little eggy. Overall, great recipe, great instructions. Thank you, Lily! 🙂
You’re very welcome, Jenna! Thank you for taking the time to leave a lovely comment. Stay safe and happy baking!