Please note that the Hong Kong summer will stay with us for the next 13 weeks.
This year the mid-autumn cool air will officially move in later than normal on September 29.
Because it has been too warm and humid to bake a rich & creamy cake.
Something light and fruity would be a better choice.
CIA ( Culinary Institute of America ) recipes have never disappointed me which was why I chose their ‘Orange Chiffon with Verbena Sauce’ recipe.
Instead of orange, I substituted it with tangerine. For me, tangerine is the winner. It is more fragrant and has a stronger citrus flavour.
Verbena on the other hand was a tricky item to source so I replaced it with freshly plucked kaffir lime leaves which we grow at home.
This tangerine chiffon with kaffir lime sauce was very light and refreshing.
In case you want to add more character to your chiffon, you can pair it with either lemon / orange gelato, fruit coulis, or even…vanilla ice cream!
Ingredients for Chiffon Cake:
Cooking spray for greasing
All-purpose flour for dusting
2¼ cups cake flour
1½ cups granulated sugar
(divided use)
Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup freshly squeezed
tangerine juice
½ cup vegetable oil
5 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp grated tangerine zest
8 large egg whites
½ tsp cream of tartar
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Makes one 10-inch tube cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 10-inch tube pan with a removable
bottom lightly with cooking spray and dust lightly with four, tapping out the excess.
Sift the flour, 1¼ cups of the granulated sugar, the baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the tangerine juice, oil, egg yolks, and tangerine zest. Mixing by hand with a spoon or rubber spatula, blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Continue to mix until the batter is smooth and evenly blended about 2 minutes.
In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium speed until they are foamy. Add the remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar and the cream of tartar.
Continue to whip until the whites form medium peaks when the beater is lifted, about 4 minutes.
Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped whites into the batter in 2 or 3 additions.
Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan and bake until a skewer inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip, 55-60 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and carefully invert on a funnel or the neck of a wine bottle to cool. When cool, release the cake from the sides of the pan with a table knife or thin palette knife and unmold.
Dust the cake with confectioners' sugar before slicing and serving. Ingredients for Kaffir Lime Sauce:
¾ cup water
6 Tbsp freshly squeezed
lemon juice
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
12 kaffir lime leaves
(divided use)
1 stalk lemongrass, soft inner
core only, minced
2 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot
2 tsp white wine or water
Makes about 2 cups
Combine the water, lemon juice, sugar, corn syrup, 6 kaffir lime leaves, and the lemongrass in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan and steep for 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a storage container and refrigerate overnight.
Strain the cooled mixture into a saucepan and return to a boil over medium heat. Create a slurry by mixing the cornstarch with the wine. Gradually add just enough of the slurry to the boiling sauce to thicken it lightly. Let the sauce cool to room temperature, then cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. (If you are making this sauce in advance, use arrowroot so that the sauce will not thin or weep during storage.)
Just before serving, mince the remaining 6 kaffir lime leaves and stir into the sauce.
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