Lemon Chiffon Cake Recipe | Epicurious

  • 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!

  • Leave a Comment