What is National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day?
National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day, March 29th, is a colorful and zesty celebration among the cake holidays.
Chiffon cake is a light cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and flavorings, making it a delectable spring dessert. Making the fluffy texture is created by beating egg whites until stiff and folding them into the cake batter before baking. Chiffon cakes tend to be lower in saturated fat than butter cakes, potentially making them healthier than their butter-heavy counterparts.
The mystery of chiffon is kept chiffon's identity
For years, the chiffon cake's recipe was a closely guarded mystery. While angel food cake was popular in the 1920s, Henry Baker thought he could make a lighter, richer cake. Before 1927, the insurance salesman-turned-caterer tinkered with ingredients until he found the right combination of ingredients and techniques to produce the airy richness he was looking for.
He provided his services to the Brown Derby Restaurant in Los Angeles, which catered to Hollywood's upper crust, keeping the dish to himself. Baker was the only one to bake chiffon cakes until 1947. Baker's essheimular combination and methods were based on what bakers and chefs already knew about cakes and leavening. To create the loft and airiness, the lightness of angel food cakes is dependent on egg whites. For leavening, traditional cakes used baking soda or powder. Baker created a lightness like no other by mixing egg whites and baking powder.. Baker's sleeve was also tricked up by one other trick up his sleeves. Where angel food cake had no butter, fat, or shortening of any kind, Baker added vegetable oil.
