Lemon, Passionfruit and Coconut Chiffon Cake

Lemon, Passionfruit and Coconut Chiffon Recipe

Ingredients

5 egg whites

80g caster sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Pinch of salt

5 egg yolks

1 tsp grated lemon rind

70g caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

100ml Ayam Brand coconut cream

60ml corn/canola oil

45ml lemon juice (from half a large lemon)

40ml canned passionfruit pulp in syrup

150g self-raising flour, sifted

Method

Preheat oven to 170C.

Whisk egg whites until frothy, then add sugar, cream of tartar and salt and whisk on high speed until just stiff.

In another bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract and rind until light and creamy. Add coconut cream, oil, lemon juice and passionfruit and whisk until well combined. Sift in the flour a little at a time and fold in gently with a spatula until smooth and well combined.

Take 1/3 of the egg white and fold it into the egg yolk mixture. Then pour this into the rest of the egg white mixture and gently fold through until evenly combined.

Pour the batter into an ungreased 22cm tube pan and bake in oven for 40-50 minutes or until light brown and firm to the touch. Remove cake from oven and immediately invert the pan onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely and remove the cake with a thin bladed knife.

Notes & tips:

1. Use large eggs to give maximum volume to the cake. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature (and so should the other ingredients).
2. Egg whites should be beaten until just stiff. Peaks should hold and not flop to the side when whisk is lifted.
3. I added the passionfruit seeds as I find they give a nice burst of flavour when bitten into. But omit them if you wish. I haven't used fresh passionfruit in this recipe before, but they would be more sour than the canned ones.
4. To fold in the flour, sieve the flour onto the egg yolk mixture a little at a time and gently fold it in with a spatula. Adding too much flour at a time may cause lumps in the mixture, unless you're using a big/wide bowl with a large surface area.
5. When folding the egg yolk and egg white mixture together at the end, do this gently but make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl for any egg white that has not been mixed through.
6. Undercooking the cake may cause it too be too moist and slip out of the pan when inverted. Use a wooden skewer to check that the middle (near the centre tube of the tin) of the cake is cooked and not wet or sticky.
7. After baking for about 30 minutes, if the top starts to brown too much, cover the top with a piece of baking paper and continue to bake until cooked. This will also reduce likelihood of the cake cracking on top.
8. Cool the cake on a cooling rack to allow air to circulate better.
9. A disposable plastic knife is handy in removing the cake from the tin as it has a flexible blade. It is also less likely to scratch the surface of the tin.
10. The cake is best eaten within 1-2 days.

The black speck you see here is a passionfruit seed.....