I’m writing this review partly to help others who also think this cake needed tweaking and so I can remember what tweaks I made. I increased the lemon juice to half a cup (the juice of about 1.5-2 medium lemons), and reduced the water to 2 tbsps. Also, 2.5 tbsps of zest is about the zest of one medium lemon(I hate measuring zest). I make this a few times a year as a birthday cake for my lactose intolerant friends and family.
This is a solid recipe. Based on others suggestions, I used more lemon juice (1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp) and less water. I also added more lemon zest. As a topping, I used a lemon glaze. Fearful that the cake may be dry, I added the glaze and then used a toothpick to let the glaze seep into the cake. It was not dry and everyone loved it. A great cake that is light and tasty.
This was easy to prepare and, in part due to the use of farm fresh eggs, was a beautiful yellow. Cooling it upside down is critical to getting the tall end product. The flavor is a kiss of lemon and is a perfect ending to a heavy meal. To enhance the lemon, add a lemon glaze before serving. This is a great alternative to those of us who do not care for boring angel food cakes.
I made this recipe
for two different
Thanksgiving
gatherings as it was
written because it
was the first time I
ever made it. It
makes a light, soft
cake that is fairly
lemony and sweet. (I
liken it to a glass
of lemonade in cake
form.) I
got mixed reviews.
Those at one
gathering loved it.
They asked me to
make it again for
another party coming
up. Those at the
other gathering said
it was too sweet and
dry and not at all
what they expected
when I said I was
making a lemon
chiffon cake (not
spongy enough?).
Personally, I did
think it just a
little too sweet,
but not much. I
would definitely
make it again, but
not for a crowd of
Chinese who do not
generally like sweet
desserts anyway.
This cake makes a
wonderful ending to
any heavy meal, for
any season. Since I
found it I made it
four times. It goes
well with fresh
fruit sauce and
berries.
I used frozen
raspberries for the
sauce and served
them alongside at
Easter, and fresh
blueberries with
vanilla ice cream in
summer. Even my son
who is very picky
about his desserts,
loves this cake.
I really like this recipe, it was simple and not very time consuming. The only problem I had with it was that the flavor wasn’t very strong. I added a lemon glaze to it which helped, but the cake itself didn’t taste very different from an angel food cake. However, it was very well received in my house
I was looking for a special springtime cake to use in my new book and thought lemon chiffon would be perfect. Then I told my best friend and she said orange chiffon would be even better. So I read all the reviews which were extremely helpful and, based on those, made the following modifications: 1/2 cup + 2 TBS. orange juice instead of the juice and water mix. Four TBS of orange zest. Everything else I did exactly as directed and baked it for 1 hour, 5 min. We are at high altitude and a couple of years ago I decided to disregard all the special high altitude baking directions and just follow the directions and have not had any problems. In fact, things have started turning out the way they’re supposed to. I wanted this cake to be very orangey, so made a glaze of powdered sugar, orange juice and Grand Marnier. WOW! It was fabulous. I can’t wait to make it again.
If you follow the recipe, this cake will come out
beautifully. I’m a baking novice, and I
understand that chiffon cakes are a bit more
challenging than the usual mix-it-up-and-
pour-it-in-the-pan. Nonetheless, my first
attempt came out wonderfully, and very
delicious. There was plenty of lemon flavor — I
used a zester to get the best part of the peel.
The cake baked up high and fluffy, too. Some
cracking on the top, which I understand is
undesirable, but not too much. I shared this
with co-workers, and everyone loved it. My
other half, who’s on a diet, is the only one who
wasn’t happy, but that’s because it was so tasty.
Will be making this cake again and again!
I thought it turned out very nicely, though I forgot the cream of tartar. I also had just one lemon peel to use, so instead of the water I used use all lemon juice. Also, I used two round cake pans with parchment paper in the bottom and baked for 25 minutes.
Folks, I think that the problem comes from the definition of “10-cup tube pan.” The author means an angel-food cake pan, not a Bundt pan. If you use an angel-food pan, the cooled cake should be easy to remove–run a long metal spatula or knife around the edge of the pan, then pull the cake from the bottom tube unit. DO NOT grease the pan because the batter needs a tactile surface to climb up for rising. Watch out for nonstick angel-food cake tube pans–they won’t work for this recipe. That being said, I think the cake could use a little more lemon flavor, so I’d add the grated zest of 1 lemon. Note that this recipe is almost twenty years old, and I think our collective palate likes stronger flavors these days.
I had the same
problem others
mentioned where the
cake stuck to the
pan. I did get it
out, but not before
going around with
the knife, pushing
the cake away from
the edge with the
knife, and then a
lot of banging and
crumbs all over the
floor! Is there a
reason why you
shouldn’t grease
the pans? Another
reviewer said she
would use a spray
next time and hoped
it wouldn’t prevent
the cake from
rising, I believe.
Is greasing a
problem with chiffon
cakes?
CAUTION! This cake was beautiful when I took it from the oven. I put the pan upside down over a bottle, as directed, and left it to cool. I returned to the kitchen to find that the top half of it had fallen from the pan and broken into about 8 pieces. The bottom part as still in the pan and broke into about four more pieces when I tried to remove it. The cake tasted great, but it was meant to be a birthday cake, and no amount of frosting was going to paste it back together and make it presentable. If I ever make it again, I will cool it in the pan right-side-up.
I made this cake for my mother’s birthday –
she is allergic to dairy and loves lemon, so
the lemon chiffon was a great choice. I will
definitely make this cake again, but I’d like to
try increasing the lemon flavor by
substituting lemon juice for the 1/4 cup
water as suggested by a previous review.
I served the cake with a lemon glaze,
which was a nice added touch. One final
note – my cake was done after just 50 min.,
so be sure to check for doneness earlier
than the 1 1/4 hour in the recipe!
Sorry to dissent here, but first of all it was not lemony enough for what I was hoping for. Also it did stick a little on the bottom. I topped with a powdered sugar/lemon juice glaze and that helped the flavour a lot. It was just so-so in my opinon; We served it with a lemon/mascarpone/whipped cream blend that helped too. My parents were given half of the cake leftover and my dutiful husband finished the balance. One piece was enough for me. And I do bake a lot, so I know I can find better recipes out there.
one additional note – like a previous reviewer, there was minor issues with cake sticking to the sides of the tube pan. no trouble removing it from the main part of the pan or taking the ring off the tube, but the pan did retain a bit of that smooth layer of the outside. personal preference i guess, but i like to have the outside that is showing looking smooth and even, especially if you aren’t going to do a solid frosting. i believe the recipe called for a non-greased pan. next time i will do a very LIGHT coating of non-stick spray (i use the wilton cake non-stick spray which i love). hopefully it will not inhibit the batter’s rising!