Blueberry Chiffon Cake

Beware! This post contains images which may kill your appetite!


I do not consider myself a particularly lucky person in life. So far, I have not won any prizes from any contest or lucky draws...I used to be able to bring home only the door gifts from annual D&Ds! Yet, I have to regard myself a very lucky person when it comes to baking. Most of my bakes turn out satisfactory, if not edible. I even have luck on several occasions when I was either making something I have not attempted before, or I have not even tasted the food prior to making it. Since I lack the skills and knowledge in the baking arena, I believe there is this little baking fairy who lives in my kitchen. It always watches over me whenever I was up to no good...experimenting with flour, butter, sugar and eggs ^_^


I didn't have much luck with baking chiffon cakes recently, the picture speaks for itself. I guess the baking fairy must have gone for holidays? I tried baking this blueberry chiffon cake with my last pack of blueberries. All went well during the preparation of the batter...I am quite certain that the egg whites was well beaten, I didn't deflate the batter too much when folding in the whites to the yolk batter either.


After spending 10 minutes in the oven, the cake rose high up beautifully, I thought I am certainly going to get it right this time. The reality is, the cake started to deflate in the next few minutes and eventually it sank almost to the rim of the pan and refused to budge from there onwards, and there was still another 20 minutes to go before the baking time was up. Even the sweet aroma (I suspect it was from the blueberry juice I used) from the cake while it was still sitting in the oven failed to lift up my spirits.


Just like the Chinese sayings, "祸不单行" (it never rains but it pours)...when I release the cake from the pan, I was greeted with the most unpleasant- looking cake I have ever made :"'(

The top was dotted with blueberries...lumps of blueberries to be exact. Do pardon me for sharing these poor quality images. I usually don't like to take food photos in the evenings due to the poor lighting condition. But I had to take out my camera immediately to commemorate the disaster I have created ;')


I managed to take photos of the last two slices on a bright day. The cake texture was so so...as there was this dense layer again at the bottom of the cake :( Fortunately, the taste was acceptable, although the blueberries created a horrific sight on the cake surface, they remain sweet after baking. I will probably stay away from making chiffon cakes for the time being...at least not until my baking fairy returns.



Blueberry Chiffon Cake

Ingredients
(makes one 18cm cake)

A:
100g cake flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
3 egg yolks
40g caster sugar
50ml vegetable oil
75ml blueberry juice or water
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

B:
3 egg whites
40g caster sugar



Method:

1. Wash and drain blueberries, pat dry with paper towels and toss them gently with one tablespoon of flour (extra).
2. Sieve flour, baking powder together, set aside.
3. Separate egg yolks/whites and bring to room temperature. (It is easier to separate eggs when they are cold.)
4. Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl, add in sugar and with a manual whisk, whisk till the mixture becomes sticky and turn pale.
5. Drizzle in the oil, whisking at the same time till the mixture is well combined. Repeat the same with the juice or water. Sieve over the flour mixture and whisk until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter. Add in blueberries and mix well.
6. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat on high speed until just before stiff peaks form.
7. Add the beaten egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
8. Pour batter into a 18cm (7 inch) tube pan (do not grease the pan). Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
9. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 45 ~ 50mins or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let cool completely before unmould. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

Recipe source: 好想为你亲手做出美味的甜点! 检见崎聡美著