Lemon Curd and Raspberry Chiffon Cake

A delicate, fluffy sponge adorned with whipped cream, lemon curd and fresh raspberries

This is my first blog post for 2022 and I am looking forward to the new year. Last year was not an easy one, with the loss of a loved one and an extremely challenging work environment, but I pray for better days. What will remain a constant in my life is baking and trying out different recipes and with that I am excited to share my first recipe for the year with you.

Have you ever heard of a chiffon cake? It is an incredibly lofty sponge cake, which is made by folding whipped egg whites into a cake batter. The fat used in the cake is oil, which produces an incredibly moist and fluffy crumb.

When I first tasted a chiffon cake, I found the flavour to be rather bland and nondescript – the oil lends wonderful moistness but little by way of flavour, in comparison to a butter cake. What this does do, however is provide a wonderful base to add flavour through different toppings.

I’ve chose to stick with safe but winning flavours here. A light lemon sponge, with slightly sweetened whipped cream, tangy lemon curd and tart raspberries.

The styling of this cake was inspired by a recipe from My Sweet Life by Fiaza Omar.

TIPS FOR MAKING THIS LEMON CURD AND RASPBERRY CHIFFON CAKE

• Where can I buy an angel food cake/ chiffon cake tin? Various specialty baking shops will stock this type of tin, which has feet for cooling the cake upside down. If you are in South Africa, you can purchase one here.

• Why should I not line the cake tin? Usually, one of the first steps in baking is to grease and line your cake tins. With a chiffon cake however, you want the cake to cling to the sides of the tin as it rises, and greasing the tin will prevent that.

• What is the purpose of the lemon juice when whipping the egg whites? The lemon juice helps to stabilize the egg whites, so that they whip up better. If you do not have lemon juice, use a teaspoon of cream of tartar or a teaspoon of vinegar.

• Why do you cool the cake upside down? The tin is specifically designed to allow the cake to cool upside down, as it has feet. This helps to prevent the cake on collapsing on itself when it comes out of the oven.

• Can you freeze the cake? The cake can be frozen for up to a month, however it will lose some of its lightness.

If you make this recipe, please share it with me by tagging me on Instagram @adventureswithsugar or on Facebook at Adventures with Sugar.

FOR THE LEMON CURD AND RASPBERRY CHIFFON CAKE

• 170g cake flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 240g caster sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
• 60ml lemon juice, plus 5ml for the egg whites.
• 70ml water
• 90ml sunflower oil
• 6 large egg yolks
• 7 large egg whites
• 400g whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 120g lemon curd
• 320g fresh raspberries

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Do not grease your 20cm angel food cake tin.
2. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt together.
3. Add in 200g sugar into the flour mixture.
4. Mix 60ml lemon juice, water, oil and egg yolks together and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix to combine.
5. In a clean mixing bowl, add the egg whites. Using the beater attachment, whip the egg whites until foamy.
6. Then add the 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and whip until soft peaks form.
7. Gradually add in the 40g of sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until you have stiff, glossy peaks.
8. Fold the meringue into the cake batter, being careful not to knock out the air.
9. Pour into the ungreased cake tin and bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
10. Once the cake is out of the oven, invert the cake tin and cool the cake upside down.
11. Remove the cake from the cake tin and slice the cake in half.
12. Beat the cream until soft peaks form, then add in the icing sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
13. Add half the cream to the bottom half of the cake and swirl in half the lemon curd. Place the raspberries in a single file around the rim of the cake. Then place the second half of the cake on the first half.
14. Repeat the process with the remaining cream and lemon curd, and pile with more strawberries.

Recipe by adventureswithsugar.com