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.
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:
- Preheat the oven to 340 F and line a springform pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl with the 4 egg yolks, whisk together the salt, oil, milk, and red food coloring.
- Sift in the baking powder and all-purpose flour into the bowl and whisk until incorporated. Do not over whisk.
- 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.
- Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture in 3 batches gently. Pour the batter into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.
- Remove the oven and allow to cool completely for about 15 minutes.
- 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.
- Sprinkle the pistachios on the side of the cake on the lower half.
- 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!
Reblogged this on Nicole LoPresti.
beautiful cake!!
Thank you!
Simply gorgeous! 😍
Thank you!
This is so beautiful. I love the green tea leaf design so creative!
Thank you!
Let’s see…you have lots of good ideas, and you possess the skill to implement them. You have a creative aesthetic and you photograph it beautifully.
Why don’t I make this simpler? Here’s a list of two or three things you don’t do to perfection. There’s…um…well, actually. OK, how about…oh, forget it!
I really like the green leaf designs on your cake! Very pretty!
Thank you!
Beautiful cake! I bet it is delicious! 💕
Thank you! Yes it is so irresistible 😭
💕💕💕
I mean delish!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It looks and sounds so good. The pictures are beautiful.
Thank you so much!