Chiffon cakes require a special pan, such as a tube or Bundt pan, to hold the airy batter while baking. Dark-colored metal or glass pans produce browner cakes, while silicone pans make removing the cake and cleaning the pan easy. Proper handling, such as cooling upside down, is crucial for a fluffy result.
Chiffon cakes are very light cakes made with vegetable oil and require a special pan that will hold the airy batter while baking. Most bakers use a chiffon tube cake pan, although a small round or square pan can be substituted in an emergency. The material of the pan can also affect the cooking process, with dark-colored metal or glass pans producing browner cakes, and heavy pans retaining heat better than light ones. Handling your chiffon cake properly is just as important as the pan, as it should be cooled upside down to avoid a dense result.
Most chiffon cakes are made with cake or pastry flour, separated eggs and sugar, as well as vegetable oil and baking powder. The high oil content keeps the cake fresh even at low temperatures, and the yeast and whipped egg whites create a fluffy, foamy batter that rises to twice its original volume during the baking process. This batter can sink in the oven if it doesn’t get enough support from the pan, however, resulting in a thick, unpalatable cake.
The best form of chiffon cake pan is the Bundt pan or tube, which has a thin central cylinder that supports the chiffon batter, producing a ring-shaped cake. If you don’t have a tube pan, you can substitute an 8 to 9 inch (20 to 23 cm) round cake pan. You can also use a half sheet jelly pan to make a very thin and wide chiffon cake that is suitable for cutting and rolling.
Most types of cake pans are made from aluminum or steel, often with a non-stick coating applied to the surface. Choose dark-colored metal pans over light ones, as they produce a more evenly brown cake. Glass and ceramic pans are relatively rare and usually smaller than their metal cousins, but their higher thermal mass means they retain heat well, cooking very evenly. A chiffon silicone cake pan browns relatively poorly, but makes removing the cake and cleaning the pan very easy. Because silicone is flexible, you may need a sheet pan or metal frame to stabilize the pan.
Even the best chiffon cake pan won’t keep your cake fluffy if you handle it roughly after baking. While the cake is hot, its structure is still malleable and can fall over. Always cool chiffon cakes upside down by supporting the tubular pans on a bottle threaded through the hole in the pan, or by setting round or flat pans on glasses set at the corners. Don’t let the stands touch the cake itself, and don’t move the cake long before it’s completely cooled.
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