Cakes aren’t really my thing because they usually have a lot of icing and are pretty big in size. They’re quite dense and hearty so if I made one, it’d be a bit difficult to finish. However, I do love chiffon cakes because they are lighter and fluffier in texture. They also taste more delicate which I love. Today, I crafted my own cake and used ingredients that I had at home to make a beautiful design. The flavors of strawberries and pistachios blend so well together!

I made this cake for my father’s birthday and I cannot stop eating it. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, I just keep eating more and more. Chiffon cake is a bit tricky to make because the cake requires a meringue. Here are a few troubleshooting tips that may help in baking a successful chiffon cake:

• Make sure the cake is baked all the way through otherwise it may rise rapidly and collapse once out of the oven.
• Beat egg whites to stiff peak and do not over mix!
• Adding cream of tartar helps strengthen the egg whites so they do not lose their height.
• Egg whites whip better at room temperature.

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Strawberry Pistachio Chiffon Cake

yield: one 9″ cake

Ingredients:

Cake batter:

• 4 eggs, separated
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp. milk (any fat percentage works)
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 4-6 drops red food coloring

Cake decoration:

• whipped cream (16 oz. heavy cream whipped with 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 2 tbsp. granulated sugar). Add sugar gradually to the sweet level of your liking. I prefer mine to be not as sweet.
• 12 strawberries, washed, and sliced
• 1/8 c. ground pistachios

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 340 F and line a springform pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl with the 4 egg yolks, whisk together the salt, oil, milk, and red food coloring.
3. Sift in the baking powder and all-purpose flour into the bowl and whisk until incorporated. Do not over whisk.
4. In a large bowl with the egg whites, use an electric beater and beat on high until stiff peaks are formed. While beating, add in the cream of tartar and granulated sugar.
5. Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture in 3 batches gently. Pour the batter into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.
6. Remove the oven and allow to cool completely for about 15 minutes.
7. Slice the cake in half and lay on one layer of whipped cream. Layer on a layer of sliced strawberries and then add another layer of whipped cream. Place the second layer of cake on top and then spread whipped cream on the entire cake.
8. Sprinkle the pistachios on the side of the cake on the lower half.
9. Lay a few slices of strawberries in the middle of the cake.

If you would like to create the dust of leaves, I used the stencil HERE. You can dust with anything such as cocoa powder or I used green tea powder and powdered sugar. This cake is absolutely fluffy, moist, and delicious! I guarantee you will impress anyone if you make this beautiful cake!