Black Tea Chiffon Cake
Earl Grey tea chiffon cake served with caramel Chantilly cream, featuring a delicate and fluffy texture.
Ingredients
Hot black tea (tea leaves : hot water = 3g : 100ml)
70 ml
Cake flour
90 g
Baking powder
2/3 tsp
Salt
a pinch
Tea leaves (Earl Grey)
3 g
Egg yolks
3 (about 60 g)
Brandy
10 ml
Salad oil
40 ml
Egg whites
about 4 (125 g)
Granulated sugar
70 g
Water (for caramel chantilly)
20 ml
Granulated sugar (for caramel chantilly)
40 g
Heavy cream (for caramel chantilly)
100 ml
Instructions
1
Prepare the black tea and dry ingredients
Steep 3g of tea leaves in 100ml of hot water to make a strong black tea, and measure out 70ml to use. Add the baking powder, salt, and tea leaves to the cake flour and mix, then sift through a fine-mesh sieve.
2
Make the egg yolk batter
Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and whisk lightly, then add the brandy and mix. Pour the salad oil into the black tea and combine, then pour this mixture into the egg yolk bowl and mix well.
3
Make the meringue
Referring to page 114, prepare a meringue with the egg whites and granulated sugar. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
4
Combine the batter
Scoop a portion of the meringue into the egg yolk batter and fold gently, then add the remaining meringue and mix lightly. Add the sifted dry ingredients in 2 batches, using a rubber spatula to fold from the bottom until the batter becomes glossy.
5
Bake
Pour into a chiffon pan (do not grease or flour it), then drop the pan from a height 3–4 times to release any large air pockets. Bake at 170°C for about 40 minutes.
6
Make the caramel chantilly
In a saucepan, add the water and granulated sugar in order, and heat over high heat to dissolve. Once boiling, swirl the pan; when the syrup turns brown and fragrant, remove from the heat and pour in the heavy cream. Return to low heat and stir until the caramel melts, then transfer to a mixing bowl set over an ice bath to cool. Whip to about 70% (soft peaks) and refrigerate.
7
Cool and unmold
Remove the cake when it is baked; the surface is springy to the touch when done. Invert the pan to cool completely. Once cooled, run a spatula around the outer edge and the central tube to release the cake, and also loosen the bottom. Invert to unmold, cut into pieces, and serve with the caramel chantilly.
