Chiffon again! Espresso.

Espresso Chiffon Cake
recipe adapted from Fresh from the Oven

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup unflavored vegetable oil (canola or safflower)
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar, separated (I suggest reducing this to 1 1/4 cups)
6 extra large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

- Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 325F.
- In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, dissolve the espresso powder in the water, Add the oil,vanilla and egg yolks. Whisk until well combined.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add 1 cup of sugar and salt and stir together.
- Make a well in the center of the dry flour mixture. Add the espresso mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir together until thoroughly combined. (Make sure there are no lumps!)
- Place the egg whites in the grease free bowl of an electric mixer or in a large grease free bowl. Using the wire whip attachment or a hand held mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed until they are frothy. Add the cream of tartar. Slowly sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and continue whipping until the egg whites hold glossy and firm but not stiff, peaks, about 5 minutes.
- Fold the egg whites into the cake batter in 3 to 4 stages, blending thoroughly after each addition. Transfer the batter to the tube pan. Use the rubber spatula to smooth and even the top.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the pan from the oven and invert it over a cooling rack onto its feet or over a funnel or a thin necked bottle. Let the cake hang to cook completely. Don't set the pan on a cooling rack on its base. This will cause the cake to collapse onto itself.
- Don't shake the cake out of the pan before it is cool. Once the cake is cool. use a thin blade knife or flexible blade spatula to run across the outer edge and the inside tube to help release the cake from the pan.
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My tube pan is so mini! It's only 4 inches in diameter.. I don't have any bigger tube pan and I am too lazy to convert the recipe to fit my mini tube pan (&also I didn't just want to have a tiny 4 inches round cake!) so I just poured the extra in a 8" springform pan.


^Look at this!

The cake rose tremendously! And I am surprised.. it didn't shrink a bit after I took it out. It's so tall and so awesome to look at! Hehe(: I really should cover and decorate it with some cream to make it fancier. But I just love the rustic feel chiffon cake has! I can definitely use this as a base to any type of birthday cakes I need to make in the future(:



Taste: I made a huge mistake of substituting instant espresso powder with a instant 3 in 1 coffee mix, the kind with milk, sugar, coffee powder all in one! The cake didn't have a prominent espresso flavor and it turned out somewhat sweeter than my liking. (I just bought instant espresso powder so I will be making this cake again soon!)

Texture: Excellent! It did not turn out moist at some parts like the matcha chiffon cake I made the other day. The texture is consistent within every layers of the cake. Airy. Light. Fluffy.