The Balanced Pastry Chef

My friend, BA from Asian in America suggested that I ignore Turkey Neck Soup Day (sorry, TNSD) and make a lemon chiffon cake anyway.  I thought it a Banner Idea, but rather than just make a standard chiffon cake, I thought I’d pull out my lemon olive oil cake.  Now, when I say “my” I don’t mean that I came up with it all by myself. The original recipe is available to All and Sundry on Epicurious.

I used to make this as wee individual loaf cakes at the restaurant. I added lemon verbena to the batter, soaked the cakes with a lemon verbena-mint syrup and served them with milk sorbet. It was a Rather Nice and Spring-ish dessert. So I thought I’d revisit the recipe for old times’ sake. And because it is very lemony and delightful.

Since this cake is leavened solely by steam (whipped yolks and whites), you must be very, very thorough during the Whipping Stages.  Also, I’d suggest that you bake these in individual forms.  They rise up shockingly high, and then like a soufflé (which these guys kind of are), they schlump back down.  The final cake tends to have buckled sides and looks kind of like a slouchy granny hat.  Which has a certain Charm, I must admit.

Next time, I might try experimenting with rigging the pan so I can cool it upside down like an angel food cake to see if it will retain its volume. Regardless, know that as long as it is fully baked, if it falls a bit, that’s just How It Is.

What you’ll end up with is a cake with a paradoxically light and heavy texture.  Because it collapses as it cools, the crumb is so fine that the cake melts in your mouth. Even when completely cool (although I like to serve it warm).  It’s good stuff, and I highly recommend you make it.  Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil as the flavor really shines through.  If you have some special flavored olive oil (not Meat Flavored or anything) try using that.

And do make sure you whip the Ever Loving Mess out of both your yolks and your whites.  The yolks should be whipped to creamy, pale thickness.  Scrape the bowl–all the way down to the bottom–several times during whipping. The whole process should take at least 5-7 minutes. Longer is just fine.  Whip the whites to glossy medium-stiff peaks.  Timing is important here, because once the whites have achieve Maximum Volume, they tend to start setting up/drying out if they sit for more than a minute or two.  So gently whisk them every once in awhile to keep that from happening.  If you must choose between whipping the yolks or the whites first, do the yolks. They can sit for several minutes without ill effect because the lecithin in the yolks helps keep the emulsion from breaking down.

First, the process pictures. I don’t really like to do process pictures because the photography gets in the way of my Baking Flow, but I thought it important for you to see what you’re looking for texture-wise. Continue reading →