Monday, May 21, 2012

Earl Grey Chiffon Cake (伯爵茶戚风蛋糕)

I realize it has been awhile since I last baked a chiffon cake. And on top of my to-do chiffon bake list was this Earl Grey flavor. I have always wondered how a tea flavored chiffon would taste like. And being a home baker does gives me the chance to try out all sorts of special flavorings. Apart from the usual pandan and orange flavor, I bet you can't find these chiffon cakes in your nearby bakeries. :P So I guess being a home baker does have it's advantages, heehee. ;D However, I consider myself quite a practical baker, I will usually bake stuff that my family will consume, heehee. So you won't see me baking something out of the ordinary here. ;P
Earl Grey being one of my favorite teas to drink, so it was an obvious choice to use. Plus my previous successful attempt on the Earl Grey Maccarons, I was further encouraged that it will be nice. And I was right. :)
I got this recipe from a Japanese Bake Book (Tawianese translation) call 西点学习大百科. It was recommended by Grace from Kitchen Corner and it was definitely a good buy. ;)

Ingredients for Earl Grey Chiffon Cake (fills a 20cm tube pan)
Egg Yolk batter:
5 egg yolks
30g caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
80ml vegetable oil
30g Earl Grey tea leaves or 3 sachets Earl Grey tea
180ml water (original calls for 200ml, I had left over)
120g superfine cake flour
2/3 tsp baking powder

Egg White batter:
5 egg whites (original calls for 6)
90g caster sugar
  • In a heat proof saucepan, place 180ml water and the tea leaves/sachets in. Heat up till almost boiling. Off the fire and let the tea soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 170C.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat up the egg yolks and 30g caster sugar till it is slightly thickens. About 5 minutes.
  • Slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil and continue to beat till well incorporated.
  • Then pour in 180ml of the brewed tea (cooled) and continue to mix till all combined and smooth. Then add in 2 sachets of Earl Grey tea grains into the mixture, stir well .
  • Lastly, sift in the cake flour and baking powder, then mix well till no visible lumps.

  • In another large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites till foamy. Then gradually add in the rest of the 90g caster sugar and beat till stiff peaks.
  • Gently fold in the whites to the flour mixture in 3 separate portions, making sure it is well combined. Then pour the batter into the tube pan. Give the pan a light tab on the base to push up the bubbles. Or you can use a chop stick and lightly swirl in the pan to remove bubbles.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes till tester comes out clean.
The aroma from the tea was fabulous. Evident but not strong, slightly fruity scent and mildly sweet. And the cake was tender and moist, just how I like it. :) If you are worried about the tea specs in the cake, it is really small and you will not even notice it when eating. ;)
You can see that the cake is indeed soft and fluffy. I will definitely bake this cake again. ;) Hope you will give it a try too!

Have a good week ahead everyone

25 comments:

鲸鱼蓝蓝蓝 said...

是啊,我也觉得自己在家做料理好棒
可以尝试更多不同的口味:)

lena said...

i dont mind the tea specks in the cake, i think it gives a tea' feel' to the cake! Perfect chiffon as usual!!

elaine chan said...

Ha... you make it so easy and perfect!. My first try was a bit daunting but I will definitely try your recipe too. thanks.

Anonymous said...

Wow.. the cake looks really so soft and tender... just like it will melt in the mouth !

Swee San @ the Sweet Spot said...

i like earl grey in bakes ... always smells so good

ann low said...

Mmm...I love earl grey and I bookmarked this recipe in my next bakes.

hanushi said...

Like the softness of your chiffon cake! :)

WendyinKK said...

I think I will like this cake.
I like Earl grey too!

Anonymous said...

just to confirm, only need to bake it for 30 mins at 170 degrees? reason why i asked is, i usually baked my chiffon at 180 degrees for at least 40 mins. btw, i love earl grey so will be trying out this recipe!
tks
octopusmum

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Octopusmum, my oven's temp is slightly higher then normal, so that's why I usually set it lower. I guess u know your oven best. Please feel free to adjust it as needed.:)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Recently I also tried out Earl grey macarons, I know this chiffon must be very good. I still have two big boxes of this tea, time for me to try chiffon. Thanks for sharing.

ReeseKitchen said...

It has been a long time since I baked a chiffon too. This is really one flavour that rarely see outside store. Sure it's good...wish to taste it too..;p

Anonymous said...

sorry, the eg yolk batter states 30g caster sugar..but method 2 on creaming the yolk and sugar states 60g caster sugar..so its 30g or 60g?. ;p

Honey Bee Sweets said...

It's 30g. Thanks for spotting it.

Yuting Zou said...

30g tea leaves or tea leaf powder? is that a little too much?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Yuting Zou, please feel free to reduce the tea powder if you feel it's too much. I have actually reduce mine from the original recipe I saw.

mi2 said...

Hi,
What if I have a 10" tube pan? How do I adjust the recipe or it will still work?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

hi mi2, 10" is about 25cm.I used a 20cm tube, and fits nicely and quite tall. If you use exactly the same amount in the recipe, it will be a shorter chiffon, nothing wrong, it'll taste the same. Happy baking!

Cake head said...

Hi, your Recipe calls for 3 sachets of tea which u steeped in hot water. Later on, u asked for the contents of 2 more sachets of tea to put into batter - this is extra new tea bags? So the recipe calls for a total of 5 tea bags? (including the 3 u put in hot water then throw away). thanks!

Quek said...

Hi I made this yesterday and it turned out great. But im using top flour so a 20cm pan is not enough to fill the cake. and i replaced the tea leaves with 3 tbsp of tea leaves. it turned out great! Thank you for the recipe honey bee sweets! ^_^

Jane said...

Can I frost this cake? Can it hold the weight of whipped cream frosting? I am thinking of making it more elaborated into a birthday cake.

Unknown said...

Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Baked last nite & only unmould this morning (yes, cake was left upside down the whole nite).
It is really pillow soft & fluffy (tall too) chiffon!
Simply love it!
<3

Anonymous said...

Hello!

I am gonna try to bake this cake soon. Kindly confirm if i need to use 100ml or 180 ml water. Ingredient table says 180ml but method says 100ml. 180 ml seems a lot of water.

Thank you!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Anonymous it should be 180ml. Thanks for spotting that.

Anonymous said...

Will you be able to advise on the proportion to use for a 25cm pan?

Thanks!