Japanese Chiffon Cake – Hojicha Flavour

Simple chiffon cake infused with Japanese Hojicha. The cake itself contains hojicha as well and it adds to this simple cake a more roasted flavour. It is very different from English tea leaves infused chiffon cake. Try a new Japanese flavour, you will love this.

What is Chiffon Cake?

Chiffon is a thin cloth woven from silk. It is a familiar term in fashion such as chiffon scarves and blouses. The chiffon cake has a unique characteristic of cloud-like light and fluffy texture which is as fine as a thin silk fabric like chiffon. This is because the chiffon cake is made of meringue which contains a lot of air. Thus the cake is named after the similar texture of the chiffon fabric.

What is the Difference Between Chiffon Cake & Angel Food Cake?

They look similar in appearance however, there are a few differences between them. The first Chiffon cake was made by Mr.Harry Baker in 1927. It was invented based on an “Angel Food Cake” recipe, which is made using only egg white. Chiffon cake recipe calls for both egg whites and egg yolks and also contains vegetable oil. Despite the similarities in appearance, those are the key difference between the cakes.

Ingredients to Make Fluffy Texture

• Eggs – I used large size eggs. You need 4 eggs for size 6.7inch (17cm) mould. Separate egg yolks and whites. Egg whites need to be chilled to make the perfect soft peak meringue.
• Sugar – Sometimes people try to reduce the amount of sugar for whatever reasons (mainly health reasons) though do not reduce the amount of sugar for a chiffon cake recipe. Because sugar stabilises the meringue and supports the cake to rise. So reduced sugar is an ingredient for failure.
• Flour – use Cake or pastry flour that contains around 8-9 % protein. You can use all-purpose flour too but the texture will be different.
• Oil – I used sesame seed oil for making dressings, or I usually use rice bran oil. If you can’t access those oils, you can use vegetable oil. Avoid oil that has a strong flavour such as Olive oil. The oil is a key ingredient in creating the chiffon cake signature texture.
• Flavour variations – I used Matcha and Hojicha, however you can use cocoa, or English tea such as earl grey etc. I would like to try Yuzu one day.

Chiffon Cake Texture

Chiffon cake has a distinctive airy fluffy and light soft texture yet the cake is spongy and structured. This texture is the result of using vegetable oil as an ingredient instead of butter in chiffon cake recipes. Because oil has a lower viscosity than butter the fat is spread evenly in the batter which creates the fluffy and soft texture. Also oil has the function to smooth out the gluten that causes the cake batter to inflate in the baking process.

Chiffon Cake Tin & Pallet Knife

The typical chiffon cake has a hole in the middle. That typical shape is made by the chiffon cake mould. Usually, Aluminum Chiffon Cake Mold is tall and has a cylinder-like hole in the middle. That cylinder-shaped hole in the middle prevents the tall cake centre being underbaked by distributing the heat evenly in the centre.

There are many types of chiffon cake tins on the market. My recommendation is tins made from aluminium. There are tins which are teflon coated and made to non stick. They will be easy to remove cake from the tin but the cake needs to stick to the tin in the cooling process. This is the key point to successfully making a chiffon cake. My chiffon cake mold is 6.7 inch (17cm) in diameter.

How to Make Chiffon Cake?

Here is Plain chiffon cake general baking process

1. Gather all ingredients and preparation Measure all ingredients precisely as much as you can. I use a kitchen scale for baking for the best result, but if you don’t have one, then read the note section of the recipe card for cup measurements.  *Preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C). *Separate the eggs to yolks and whites. Refrigerate the egg white till you whip it.  *Sift the flour.
2. Make egg yolk cake batter. Add sugar and stir till yolks and sugar combine and sugar dissolved. Then pour oil into the mixture a little bit at a time. Each time you add the oil, keep stirring. When all oil is added and combined, pour milk and combine it all together. Sift the flour into the mixture and stir to combine.  
3. Whip meringue You can make meringue with a stand mixer, handheld mixer or a good whisk. Beat chilled egg white till large bubbles form. Then add 1/3 sugar at a time to make the meringue. When all sugar is added beat the egg white till it forms a soft peak. 
4. Combine egg yolk cake batter and meringue Drop a scoop of the meringue into the egg yolk cake batter and combine till you don’t see any streaks of egg white. Then pour the egg yolk batter back into the meringue bowl and fold them all together with a spatula. 
5. Bake in the preheated oven Pour the cake batter into a chiffon cake mould. Drop it once onto a kitchen bench to release the air pockets. Then stir the batter with a skewer to pop small bubbles. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. 
6. Cooldown the cake for about 2 hours Tip Leave the chiffon cake upside down to cool for about 2 hours. We need to put it upside down so that the cake is pulled by gravity and minimise the shrinkage. 
7. Remove the Chiffon cake out of the mould. Insert a pallet knife between the mould and the chiffon cake and separate the side of the cake from the mould. Do the same for the centre and the bottom. 

Tips to Bake Chiffon Cake Successfully

Chiffon cake is not an easy cake to bake, however, if you keep a few steps in mind, you can bake a chiffon cake successfully. Some tips are from my baking club teacher of the high school I once belonged to over 30 something years ago in Japan.

• Each ingredient needs to be measured precisely. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, measure spoon and level with a back of a knife to be as accurate as possible.
• How good the meringue is, determines the result of your chiffon cake. Over and Under beaten meringue is not good. All equipment and tools need to be completely dry, and egg white needs to be chilled until right before the beating.
• Cool the chiffon cake down completely upside down to avoid shrinkage.
• Don’t use a non-stick coating pan.

Trouble Shootings

Japanese Variations

The American born Chiffon cake is loved by people all over the world because of its unique airy fluffy texture like a silk woven chiffon fabric. There are many variations in terms of flavours such as vanilla, chocolate, and lemon, etc. I would love to add Japanese flavours to it, Matcha and Hojicha. In the recipe below, I include plain, Hojicha and Matcha.

Serving Suggestions – Japanese Way

Simple chiffon cakes are served creatively in Japan. Have you eaten or seen Japanese fruit sandwiches, with pillowy soft Japanese milk bread “Shokupan” sandwiches whipped cream and fruit? Just like that, you can make a score into a slice of chiffon cake and decorate with fruit and whipped cream. I decorate the hojicha flavoured cake with berries and mascarpone. Also, both matcha and hojicha flavour go well with Anko the sweet azuki bean paste and chestnuts kanroni.

How to Store?

The cake will last a few days in room temperature if it is not too hot. Or you can slice it and wrap them with cling wrap individually to store in the fridge. It will keep for 3-4 days though if you store it for longer it will lose the flavour so it is better to consume sooner. You can also freeze them in the same way and it will last for about 2 weeks. Defrost naturally in room temperature to eat.

Other Fluffy Japanese Sweets

• Extra thick and fluffy Japanese pancakes
• Fluffy Japanese Cheesecake

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