For UESL Students
Issue 8 March 2002

How to Make Banana Chiffon Cake
By Shoko Koizumi

Whenever I visit a foreign country, I always taste the cakes. Some cakes are good, but others are too sweet for me. Many American cakes have a special flavor or coloring that, to tell the truth, I don't like. However, there is one American cake that I really like. Therefore, I'd like to introduce an unsweetened cake from America.

Chiffon Cake is very popular in my country. It is good for your health and it's easy to get every ingredient in Ellensburg. Above all Banana Chiffon Cake is my favorite, so I'm going to give you the recipe.

History of Chiffon Cake

Harry Baker invented the recipe in 1927. He baked his cakes for the Hollywood restaurants, but never leaked the secret recipe.
One day he decided Betty Crocker should share the recipe. In 1948 Betty Crocker introduced the Chiffon Cake and hailed it as 'the cake discovery of the century!' Soon it was a popular cake all over the country.

What is Chiffon Cake?

A Chiffon Cake is made with salad oil, egg yolks, and meringue. The texture is very light and soft. Traditionally, this cake is baked in a tube pan, that is, it can be baked as a round cake that has a hole in the center. The pan has an inner tube that provides support for the center of the delicate batter as it raises.

Recipe Ingredients

(batter)

• 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/3 cup (80ml) salad oil
• 2 small very ripe bananas

(meringue)

• 7 egg whites
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions

Preheat oven 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Wash angel food cake tube pan
(make meringue)

1. In mixing bowl, beat egg whites and 1/3 cup sugar on high speed until foamy; gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until stiff, peaks form. Peaks should be soft enough so they bend over slightly at the tips, set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mash banana carefully. In a large bowl, whisk yolks with milk and gradually drop salad oil, beat until blended well. Then add mashed banana paste, sift flour over the egg yolks batter, and using flat spatula, quickly but gently fold.
3. Put 1/3 of the meringue into the yolks batter and mix it gently. Do the same two more times. Then pour into the tube pan at once to remove air pocket.
4. Bake about 35 to 40 minutes, until an inserted pick comes out clean, remove it from oven, turn upside down to cool for 1 hour.

Serve

Divide 8 to 10 pieces and serve them with ice cream or whipped cream.

Hints & Tips

Egg whites whip better at room temperature. Make sure that your bowl and the tube pan are grease free.