my fyp on ig is filled with cakes piled high with cream - as it should be - there is something so beautifully rustic and simultaneously over the top about them. this makes them a wonderful cake to make for guests, low on the effort side for a cake (no need to layer, crumb coat, set up in the fridge, pipe decorations etc.), but a wow moment that can rival even the most expertly executed buttercream piping (i mean just look at the ads below).
you can make most cakes tall (not all, some have too much moisture in them so the outside will burn before the inside cooks), but the classic tall cakes are sponge cakes - specifically angel food and chiffon come to mind. chiffon and angel food are both risen in the pan by whipped egg whites, but the chiffon has the addition of yolks and oil, which means it has more flavor than angel food and is less dry. chiffon used to be in fashion in the early-mid 20th c., but eventually they virtually disappeared.
chiffon has been my go to cake for clients if the cake has both a frosting and a fluid core (thinking jams, coulis, liquid fudge.) as the sponge-like texture pairs so beautifully with the creamy buttercream and liquid center - all the different textures go so well together.
all of this history and details aside, when developing this concept of a tall tiramisu-inspired table side cake, for me chiffon was the cake to go with. not only is chiffon an iconic tall cake (and meant to be baked this way,) but the sponge pairs beautifully with the creamy mascarpone topping and warm coffee or mocha pour over. it also makes a lovely replacement for the ladyfingers, because as a sponge cake, chiffon soaks up the coffee quite well. in the end you get this lovely textural balance between the coffee soaked parts of the cake (which are so similar in texture to the coffee soaked ladyfingers), and the light and fluffy/bouncy parts of the cake that remain dry.
chiffon is a notoriously difficult cake to make - a quick search on the internet will show that sinking after removing from the oven is common (and there are about a dozen reasons as to why this happened so it can be difficult to troubleshoot.) this sinking is a total bummer, and it happened to me well over two dozen times. After much experimentation, i have developed a recipe which, when executed properly, which gets the right height and never sinks and maintains that fluffy spongey texture - provided to you below, with tons of detailed instructions to make sure you have *hopefully* a good experience with chiffon. i have also provided a cake calculator so that you can tailor this recipe to any cake pan you have.
after making the chiffon all you have to do is make the cream (just as easy as making frosting) and then the coffee or mocha pour over. that’s it.
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