Orange chiffon cake with chocolate icing and candied oranges

Our recipe book could not be without the cake that Virginia, author of Sweet&Sour , is preparing for us today: chiffon cake is a cake that, like all good fashions, is making a comeback with a vengeance! It is prepared in the Angel Food Cake mould , so take note because you now have another "must-have recipe" for your list!

You may be wondering... What is a Chiffon Cake? If it looks just like an Angel Cake ... How are they similar? How are they different? A Chiffon Cake is a tall, spectacular round cake that, like an Angel Cake, has a hollow in the center, and, like the latter, is baked in the same pan , without greasing. It was created in 1920 by a Californian, Henry Baker, who ended up selling the recipe to General Mills in 1940 and became very popular in the 1950s. Since then, its interest has declined, until today, when it has become fashionable again.

Despite their external appearance, they have nothing to do with Angel Cake, except that they are baked in the same ungreased mold . Both incorporate flour and sugar in their preparation, but… The Chiffon Cake recipe is prepared with whole eggs and fat is added in the form of vegetable oil, which gives it that juicy and light texture and makes it stay in good condition for a long time. In addition, raising agent is used to prepare Chiffon Cake. Angel Cake is prepared without raising agent or any fat, and only egg whites are used in its preparation.

Chiffon Cake is a very spongy, light and soft cake , but with more body than Angel Cake, although surprisingly more delicate to handle once baked.
Specifically, this recipe that I bring you today reminds me of the pastries from my childhood... Do you remember the “Bonis”, “bucaneros”....? Well, it's a bit like that texture and flavour.

Chiffon cake is not usually covered except with a little powdered sugar, but in this case, and with those memories in my mouth, I wanted to cover it with a divine chocolate glaze and some candied oranges, which give it a festive touch. A real success.

Let's go with the recipe:

INGREDIENTS (for a 25cm Angel Cake mould )

For the Chiffon Cake:

• 6 "L" Eggs + 1 Extra Egg White, at room temperature
• 225gr of Pastry Flour
• 300gr of superfine sugar or Caster Sugar*
• 1 Tbsp (tablespoon) Baking Raising Agent
• 1/2 Tsp (teaspoon) of common salt
• 2 Tbsp (tablespoons) Orange Zest
• 120ml Sunflower Oil
• 180ml Orange Juice
• 1 Tsp (teaspoon) Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Tsp (teaspoon) Cream of Tartar**

For the Chocolate Glaze:

• 200gr of 70% quality chocolate.
• 200gr of Double Cream or cream 35% mg
• 3 tablespoons of liquid glucose or Golden Syrup***

For the candied oranges:

• 1 Orange
• 200gr of sugar
• 100gr of water

* Superfine sugar or caster sugar is nothing more than ground sugar that has not reached the powdered state. If you can't find it, you can make it at home with any food processor or coffee grinder.
**Cream of Tartar can be found in baking stores or, at the very least, in pharmacies.
***Liquid glucose or Golden Syrup is available in baking stores.

PREPARATION:

We start with the candied oranges:

We wash the orange well and cut it into slices with a very sharp knife .
To remove the bitterness, boil them in water, which we will discard once it reaches boiling point. Rinse them under running water, being very careful not to damage their shape.
Put the water and sugar to boil in a medium saucepan , and when the sugar has dissolved, add the orange slices. Let it cook over low heat until it looks done. It can take about 1 1/2 hours. Let it rest in the syrup for at least 2 hours. Ready.

Copper pot from De Buyer

You can store them in this syrup in a glass jar , or if you want them to dry, place the slices on a rack and let the sugar harden. Store them between baking paper, in a tin box, in a cool place. Or even freeze them wrapped in cling film.

Now let's move on to the Chiffon Cake:

We separate the whites and yolks when the eggs are cold. It is easier to leave them covered at room temperature for about 1 hour.
When our yolks and whites are at room temperature, we preheat the oven to 170ºC, heat up and down.
In a medium bowl , in my case the Kitchen Aid metal bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, 250 g of sugar, the baking powder, the salt and the orange zest.
Make a hole in the centre and pour in the yolks, oil, orange juice and vanilla extract. Mix with the paddle at low speed for 1 minute until you obtain an orange cream without lumps. If you do it by hand, mix it with the help of a silicone spatula.
In the glass bowl of the Kitchen Aid fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites. First, lightly foam them, add the cream of tartar and beat at medium-high speed until soft peaks begin to form. Now with the motor running, add the remaining 50g of sugar little by little and beat at high speed until stiff peaks form.

Kitchen Aid robot with glass bowl and Le Creuset silicone spatula

For preparations of this type, I like to have an extra bowl for my Kitchen Aid, because that saves me from having to take the mixture out of the previous one and clean it in the middle of the preparation. I have the glass bowl, which is not only useful but also very pretty.

Once our two preparations are ready, we pour the beaten egg whites in three batches over the flour and yolk mixture. We mix with circular movements, using a silicone spatula, trying to keep the egg whites from collapsing.

Pour the mixture into our "ungreased" Angel Cake mold and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out dry.

Nordic Ware Angel Food Cake Mold

Remove from the oven and place the cake upside down on the legs of the Angel Cake mould so that it cools without losing volume during the process. Allow to cool completely in this position. Once cold, run a knife or metal spatula around the edge and remove from the mould. Do the same to remove it from the lid.

Now let's move on to the chocolate glaze:

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, I like to use the Buyer copper saucepan , mix all the ingredients and place over medium heat, stirring well until everything has dissolved and you have a thick cream. Remove from heat and set aside.

Be careful, this glaze hardens when it is warmed up. However, do not pour it too hot, as it will tend to spread; nor too thick, or it will not spread easily and will become more opaque.

We cover the cake with the chocolate glaze and candied oranges and serve with more chocolate glaze on the side.

Tips:

• This cake keeps very well at room temperature for up to 3 days, and 10 days in the refrigerator. In fact, I forgot to put the lid on and it was left in contact with the air all night, and surprisingly it was juicy, not the next best thing.
• Just as there are cakes that are delicious when warm, this cake is best enjoyed at room temperature or cold.

Enjoy.
Virginia