Chiffon galore!

Woah. Looks like it is a week of chiffon cakes and more chiffon cakes. The third chiffon cake I am whipping up this week, this time,  mango flavour. (I am making another one tomorrow for some friends) Mangoes are in the season now and they are really cheap. I used honey mangoes in the cake. Like their name, honey mangoes are super sweet and and juicy. They are also less fibrous than the  other types. I decided against blending the mango into a puree and roughly mash them up instead. In this way, you can have tasty bits of mango in the cake, which adds to the texture. Use ripe mangoes, but not overly ripe to the point of going black (unlike bananas).  I scaled the amount of sugar by quite abit as honey mangoes are very sweet. Too much sugar will over power the natural sweetness of the mangoes. The chiffon cake did not have a very strong mango flavour, probably lost in the baking process. I reckon that adding abit of store bought mango puree may solve the problem but I prefer this natural taste.  Dust it with abit of icing sugar and enjoy it in the afternoon with a cup of tea. Add a scoop of mango gelato and have it for dessert.

Mango Chiffon Cake

6 egg yolks and 7 egg whites
360g mango (mashed)
230g cake flour
150g & 3 ½tbsp castor sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil or safflower oil
3/4 tsp cream of tartar 

1. Preheat the oven to 175C (350F), with the rack in the center. Have a 10 inch (25 cm) two piece tube pan (ungreased) ready.

2. Sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Add the castor sugar (minus 3 ½ tablespoon). Whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg yolks, mango and oil. With the mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat about two minutes or until smooth. Make sure there are no lumps of flour left unmixed.

3. Pour the batter into a large bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, with the mixer on whisk attachment beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.  With a large rubber spatula, stir in 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the batten. Fold in the remaining egg whites (half portion at a time) into the batter (being careful not to deflate the batter). 

4. Pour the batter into the ungreased tube pan and bake for about 65 – 70 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven invert the pan and place on a flat surface so it is suspended over the counter.  Let the cake cool completely before removing from pan (about 1 1/2 – 2 hours). Serves 6 – 8.