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Monday, October 18, 2010

An Unfortunate Chiffon

Of all the cakes that I have baked so far, I should say that the temperamental chiffon is one I fear most.  I have had my fair share of chiffon failures plus I have also heard (horror) stories that even a professional baker can experience failures when it comes to the chiffon.  Of course there is also the fickle macarons, but that is a separate story altogether.

My fear of the chiffon has therefore prevented me from experimenting, especially when there are so many flavours that I would like to incorporate in the cake.  I was happy when I found this Peanut Butter Chiffon recipe in Chiffon Cake is Done by Kevin Chai.  You see, the thought of peanut butter in a chiffon has long germinated in my thoughts, even before I came across the recipe. 


Unfortunately, my happiness was shortlived.  My heart sank when I incorporated the peanut butter into the batter, and the entire thing clumped up and became almost like a cookie dough.  I thought maybe I was overzealous with the peanut butter and miscalculated, so I tested the recipe again, and the same thing happened. The resultant cake was a far cry from any of the chiffons I have baked or tasted so far. It was slightly dense and had tiny bits of peanut butter crumble in it.  Not exactly the texture that I had long envisioned for my peanut butter chiffon.
I probably will not attempt this recipe again, and was quite hesitant to include it here initially.  But then, it could just be me - maybe my baking fairy had gone AWOL that day.  So, if you have peanut butter to spare, perhaps you can try it, and let me know what's your take on it.  Better still, if you have a fail proof peanut butter chiffon recipe, please do let me know :).
You will need:
2 eggs, separated
40 g peanut butter
2 tbsp peanut oil
20 g + 40 g caster sugar
60 g self raising flour, sifted
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Preparation:
Melt peanut butter and peanut oil over low heat.  Set aside to cool.

Beat egg yolks and 20 g sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in the peanut mixture, and beat well to combine.  Fold the flour into the mixture.

Whisk egg whites until foamy.  Add in cream of tartar and continue whisking.  Gradually add in the 40g sugar, and whisk until stiff peak.

Gently fold in the egg white into the egg yolk mixture in threes.
Pour batter into an ungreased 16 cm tube pan.  Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg Celsius for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven, and invert the pan immediately until completely cool.

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