Orange or Lemon Chiffon Cake
(Gluten-free adaption by Shelley Goldbeck)
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups cake flour (for gluten-free I use a combination of rice, almond, coconut, and/or sorghum flours and cornstarch, tapioca, potato and/or arrowroot. I have better luck with gluten-free baking if I use some almond or coconut flour).
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white sugar (or ¼ c honey)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (olive or coconut oil)
- 6 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup water (I include the juice from two oranges or lemons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon or orange zest
- 6 egg whites (room temp is best for getting them fluffy)
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup white sugar (or 1/3 c honey or other natural sweetener like agave)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 cup sugar. Add oil, egg yolks, water and lemon rind. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
- In a small bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks form. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, and beat until very stiff and shiny peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain. Turn batter into ungreased 10 inch tube/bundt pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (If you use honey, you may have to reduce the cooking temp and increase the time as honey browns easily.) Invert cake and cool completely in pan. When cool, loosen edges and shake pan to remove cake.
Decorate with powdered sugar and lemon/orange slices.
Variations on this cake recipe:
- White cake: no lemon, add 2 tsp vanilla
- Spice cake: remove lemon. Add 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp cloves, ¼ tsp allspice or to taste.
- Chocolate: remove lemon. Add ½ cup cocoa (or to taste)
- Add poppy seeds
Cake may be cut into pieces and frozen in single servings. You can also make cupcakes.