Orange Cake

Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Servings: 10 people

Soft and fluffy orange cake infused with fresh-squeezed orange juice and fragrant orange zest and topped with whipped cream

Ingredients:

Orange Cake:

180 g cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
10 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoon cream of tartar
220 g granulated sugar, divided into 100g + 50g
3 tablespoons orange zest, from about 2 oranges
150 g orange juice, freshly squeezed, from about 1.5-2 oranges
80 g light-tasting oil, e.g. canola oil, avocado oil, etc.
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream & Toppings:

280 g whipping cream or heavy cream, cold
30 g powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange, sliced thinly

Directions:

Orange Cake:

Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Flour mixture: In a small bowl, stir together cake flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Separate the eggs: Separate the egg whites and egg yolks into two separate large mixing bowls. Be careful not to get any yolks into the egg whites. Set the yolks aside.
Egg white mixture: To the egg whites, add cream of tartar. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the mixture on low-medium speed until it becomes very frothy like cappuccino foam.
Beat to stiff peaks: Slowly sprinkle in 100g of granulated sugar, one spoonful at a time, mixing thoroughly in between each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, continue beating on medium speed until it becomes stiff peaks. Set aside.
Egg yolk mixture: To the egg yolks, add the remaining 50g of sugar and mix briefly with the same hand mixer. Add the orange zest, orange juice, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
Sift in flour mixture: Use a fine mesh sieve to sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Mix on low speed until combined and smooth.
Fold together: Add about ⅓ of the egg white meringue into the egg yolk mixture. Use a spatula to fold together until mostly combined. Add the rest of the meringue and fold together until no streaks remain and you have a fluffy batter.
Fill pan: Pour the batter into a 10" tube pan (do not grease or line the pan!). Lift and drop the pan on the counter to knock out any large air bubbles.
Bake: Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. After taking it out of the oven, immediately flip the pan upside down and let it cool completely this way. Ensure there's airflow underneath the pan, either by resting the pan on its feet (most tube pans have these) or on a wire rack.
Release from pan: Once cooled, flip the pan back over and run an offset spatula or skewer around the edges of the cake. Grasp the middle column of the pan and lift the cake out of the pan. Run the offset spatula underneath the cake to release it from the bottom plate. Flip the cake onto a serving plate.

Whipped Cream & Toppings:

Whip cream: In a medium mixing bowl, add the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat with a hand mixer or whisk until it becomes firm peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag and snip the tip off.
Decorate cake: Pipe the whipped cream on top of the cake. Arrange orange slices on top of the cream. Sprinkle the cake with a bit more orange zest, if desired.
Serve: Slice and serve or chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours to allow the whipped cream to set.

Tips & Notes:

Carefully separate the egg whites and egg yolks. The egg whites won't whip up properly even if it's contaminated with a bit of egg yolk. I recommend cracking the eggs one at a time into a separate small bowl and separate the egg white and egg yolk by scooping the yolk up and passing it back and forth between your hands until the egg whites slip off in the bowl. Transfer the yolk and egg whites to their respective mixing bowls before cracking the next egg. This way, even if the yolk breaks, you'll only ruin one egg and not the entire batch.
Patience is key when whipping the egg white meringue. It can be tempting to add the sugar early or quickly or turn the mixer speed up to make the process go faster but these can all compromise the structure and integrity of the egg whites and the balance of sugar with the egg proteins or create large air bubbles that collapse during baking. It's a process that takes some time but it's worth it!
Scrape the bottom of the bowl when folding the batter together. The thicker batter tends to stick to the bottom of the bowl so be sure to incorporate it into the batter. The cake batter should be one solid, even colour with no streaks otherwise the cake won't rise evenly.
Do not grease or line the tube pan. Tube pans are specifically made without a non-stick coating because chiffon cakes need to "stick" to the sides to climb up the pan during baking. There's no need to grease the pan or add any parchment paper.
Cool the cake upside down. Cooling the cake upside down helps it keep it's height and shape as the steam in all the tiny air bubbles escapes while it cools. A small amount of shrinking and deflating is normal with chiffon cake but this helps prevent the cake from deflating too much.
Storage: This orange chiffon cake can be stored covered or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. A large mixing bowl turned upside down works well if you want to cover the cake without disturbing the whipped cream on top.
Chiffon cake stays soft even after storing in the fridge because it doesn't contain butter so it can be served straight from the fridge or taken out 10 minutes ahead of time.
Leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for 1-2 hours.