A soft, moist and fluffy high altitude chiffon cake that’s light as a cloud and frosted with the most delicious blueberry cream cheese whipped cream. This is a wonderful recipe to make for the spring and summer holidays, such as Easter, Mother’s Day and 4th of July. And be sure to see the recipe variations section in today’s post for how to make a chocolate chiffon cake, too.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for angel food cake, Charlotte cake, and strawberry shortcake layer cake.
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What is Chiffon Cake?
A chiffon cake is a classic type of sponge cake, similar to an angel food cake. But while an angel food cake is pure white since it’s made with only whipped egg whites, and no fat of any kind, chiffon cake contains both the yolks and whipped egg whites, in addition to fat from vegetable oil. It has a soft, delicate, spongy texture, with a crumb that’s a little more open and not quite as tight and plush as angel food cake. This cake is fantastic with whipped cream and fruit.
Most recipes for chiffon cake and angel food cake will instruct you to whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. A notable adjustment for making these cakes at high altitude is that you will only whip the egg whites to soft peaks, or the structure of your cake could collapse.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tastes like Blueberry Shortcake. The blueberry whipped cream is seriously good, a perfect light frosting for this soft and springy cake.
Fresh and Soft for Days. This is a cake that keeps wonderfully in the refrigerator, and is even soft when it’s cold from the fridge.
Uses Whole Eggs. When a recipe uses only egg whites, you might find yourself with a surplus of egg yolks to turn into ice cream, custard or lemon curd. But today’s recipe uses the whole eggs, so you won’t have any extra yolks or whites.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cake
- Flour. For this recipe, you’ll want to use cake flour, not all-purpose flour, for a super soft, fluffy texture.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture to the cake.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent. While the whipped egg whites will give the cake some lift as well, the baking powder ensures that the cake rises tall and fluffy.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances flavor.
- Eggs. You’ll need 7 whole eggs, but you’ll be separating the eggs and whites as the whites will be whipped separately.
- Water + Vegetable Oil. Gives the cake moisture. Do not substitute melted butter for the oil, although you can use a neutral tasting olive oil instead.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Cream of Tartar. Adds stability to the whipped egg whites.
Whipped Cream
- Cream Cheese. Adds stability and body to the whipped cream.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and stabilizes the cream.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Blueberry Jam or Preserves. This is optional, and you can make the whipped cream plain, or with another type of jam. I love the flavor of Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves for this recipe.
- Cream. You need heavy whipping cream, so the cream whips up into thick, fluffy peaks.
Instructions
Getting Ready
- About an hour before you plan to bake your cake, separate your eggs while they’re cold from the fridge. Eggs are easiest to separate when they’re cold, but room temperature egg whites whip more quickly and easily. Separate all the yolks and whites, then let them warm up to room temperature for about an hour. Note: You don’t want any trace of egg yolk in the whites, so if one of the yolks breaks while you’re separating the eggs, set that one aside and use it for scrambled eggs or another baking project. When you separate an egg, I recommend letting the white fall into a separate small bowl first, then pour it into your mixing bowl. That way, you won’t ruin the entire bowl of egg whites if one of the yolks breaks.
- Soak a cotton ball in a little white distilled vinegar, and wipe clean the bowl and whisk attachment that you’ll be using to whip the egg whites. This ensures that they’re free of fat or grease, which can prevent the egg whites from whipping.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F, and position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Have ready an ungreased tube pan or angel food cake pan with a removable bottom.
Whisk the Cake Batter
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, water, oil and vanilla for about 30 seconds, until frothy. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth, then set the batter aside until needed.
Whip the Egg Whites
- Pour the egg whites into the bowl of your stand mixer, and add the cream of tartar. Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium high speed, to soft peaks. This should take about 3 minutes.
- Add 1/3 of the whipped egg whites to the cake batter, gently folding them in until completely incorporated. Fold in another 1/3 of the egg whites, then fold in the last 1/3 of the egg whites, until you have a fluffy, airy batter with no visible yellow streaks. The batter needs to be evenly mixed so that your cake crumb is uniform throughout.
Bake and Cool
- Pour the batter into the pan. Bake the cake on the lower oven rack for about 50-55 minutes, until the top is puffed and golden brown, the cake springs back when gently touched, and a cake tester inserted comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and immediately turn the pan upside down on the counter. Let the cake cool upside down in the pan until completely cooled. This helps the cake keep its height, rather than deflating as it cools. To speed up the cooling process, I let it cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, for a total of 90 minutes.
- To unmold the cake, run a sharp knife around the sides and center of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then remove the sides of the pan. Then use the knife to loosen the cake from the base of the pan. Use a dry pastry brush to brush the darker brown crumbs off the sides and bottom of the cake. Set the cake on a serving plate.
Whipped Cream
- With an electric mixer (stand or hand held), beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add the blueberry preserves and the vanilla, and beat until smooth.
- Add the cream, and whip on medium high speed until thick and fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
- Frost the cooled cake with the whipped cream. The whipped cream is very stable, and will not deflate on the leftover cake.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Recipe Variations
Chiffon Layer Cake
This recipe works beautifully as a layer cake, too, and with its soft texture, is ideal to use in recipes such as this strawberry shortcake cake, or any cake that’s frosted with whipped cream and requires refrigeration.
- Instead of using a tube pan, use three 8-inch round cake pans. Prepare the pans by lightly spraying the bottoms only (not the sides) with non-stick baking spray. Then line the bottoms of the pans with circles of parchment baking paper.
- Prepare the cake batter as instructed, and divide the batter between the pans.
- Bake the cakes on the lower oven rack at 325 F for about 25-28 minutes, until golden brown, and the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool completely. With a tube pan, you’ll cool the cake upside down, but I didn’t do that with these layer cakes. The cakes will slightly settle as they cool, and the domed tops will flatten, which is ideal for stacking layers.
- To remove the cakes from the pans, run a sharp knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake, gently turn the cakes out of the pans, and remove the parchment paper.
- Layer with jam and whipped cream. For this version, instead of adding the jam to the whipped cream, I stacked the cake layers with apricot jam and cream cheese whipped cream.
Chocolate Chiffon Cake
To make a chocolate chiffon cake, you only need to make a minor adjustment to the ingredients. The chocolate version is fantastic on its own with a cup of hot coffee, drizzled with chocolate ganache, or served with whipped cream and salted caramel sauce.
- Reduce the cake flour from 2 1/3 cups to 1 3/4 cups.
- Add 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder to the dry ingredients. (Note that I did not substitute an equal amount of cocoa powder for the flour. Cocoa powder absorbs more liquid than flour does, so you need slightly less of it, or the cake will be too dry.)
- Prepare the cake batter and bake the cake as instructed. My chocolate chiffon cake was done at 50 minutes, rather than 55-60 minutes.
Chiffon Sheet Cake
This recipe works wonderfully as a sheet cake, baked in a 9×13 inch baking pan. It’s perfect for this strawberry chiffon sheet cake, topped with strawberry compote and whipped cream, like a strawberry shortcake.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Lightly spray the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray, if you plan on serving the cake directly from the pan. However, if you plan on turning the cake out onto a large serving plate or baking sheet, you’ll also need to line the pan with parchment paper, to ensure you can release the cake from the pan.
- Make the cake batter as instructed, then pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the cake for about 35-40 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched, and a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake completely. It’s normal for the cake to shrink a bit as it cools.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
If the cake is frosted with whipped cream, refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If the cake is frosted with buttercream, or left plain, you can store the leftover cake at room temperature.
You need to use cake flour for the best results. Cake flour has a lower percentage of protein, making a softer, lighter, fluffier cake.
If your cake is a little dry, you likely over-baked it by a few minutes. You can add more moisture to the cake by brushing it with a few tablespoons of milk.
See the above recipe variations section for making a chiffon layer cake.
Chiffon cakes are always made with oil, not butter, which keeps them moist, light and springy. Butter can tighten the cake crumb as it cools and make it more dense than it should be. You can, however, use a neutral tasting olive oil instead of the vegetable oil.
A sponge cake needs to be baked in an ungreased pan so that the cake can cling to the sides of the pan and maintain its height rather than collapsing. It cannot do this if the pan is slippery with non-stick spray or butter.
Yes, you can freeze the unfrosted cake. Cool the cake completely, wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3-6 months. For layer cakes, wrap each layer separately in plastic wrap.
No, you cannot bake a chiffon cake in a bundt pan, since it needs to be baked in an ungreased pan. A bundt pan has far too many crevices, and if you bake the batter in an ungreased bundt pan, it would be impossible to remove the cake without ripping it apart.
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High Altitude Chiffon Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ⅓ cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 7 large egg yolks
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 7 large egg whites, room temperature
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
Whipped Cream
- 4 oz cream cheese, cold
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup blueberry preserves, optional
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Getting Ready
- About an hour before you plan to bake your cake, separate your eggs while they're cold from the fridge. Eggs are easiest to separate when they're cold, but room temperature egg whites whip more quickly and easily. Separate all the yolks and whites, then let them warm up to room temperature for about an hour. Note: You don't want any trace of egg yolk in the whites, so if one of the yolks breaks while you're separating the eggs, set that one aside and use it for scrambled eggs or another baking project. When you separate an egg, I recommend letting the white fall into a separate small bowl first, then pour it into your mixing bowl. That way, you won't ruin the entire bowl of egg whites if one of the yolks breaks.
- Soak a cotton ball in a little white distilled vinegar, and wipe clean the bowl and whisk attachment that you'll be using to whip the egg whites. This ensures that they're free of fat or grease, which can prevent the egg whites from whipping.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F, and position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Have ready an ungreased tube pan or angel food cake pan with a removable bottom.
Cake
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, water, oil and vanilla for about 30 seconds, until frothy. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth, then set the batter aside until needed.
- Pour the egg whites into the bowl of your stand mixer, and add the cream of tartar. Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium high speed, to soft peaks. This should take about 3 minutes.
- Add 1/3 of the whipped egg whites to the cake batter, gently folding them in until completely incorporated. Fold in another 1/3 of the egg whites, then fold in the last 1/3 of the egg whites, until you have a fluffy, airy batter with no visible yellow streaks. The batter needs to be evenly mixed so that your cake crumb is uniform throughout.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Bake the cake on the lower oven rack for about 50-55 minutes, until the top is puffed and golden brown, the cake springs back when gently touched, and a cake tester inserted comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and immediately turn the pan upside down on the counter. Let the cake cool upside down in the pan until completely cooled. This helps the cake keep its height, rather than deflating as it cools. To speed up the cooling process, I let it cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, for a total of 90 minutes.
- To unmold the cake, run a sharp knife around the sides and center of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then remove the sides of the pan. Then use the knife to loosen the cake from the base of the pan. Use a dry pastry brush to brush the darker brown crumbs off the sides and bottom of the cake. Set the cake on a serving plate.
Whipped Cream
- With an electric mixer (stand or hand held), beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium speed for about one minute, until smooth. Add the blueberry preserves and the vanilla, and beat until smooth.
- Add the cream, and whip on medium high speed until thick and fluffy peaks form that hold their shape.
- Frost the cooled cake with the whipped cream. The whipped cream is very stable, and will not deflate on the leftover cake.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve.
What if I don’t live at a high altitude? How do I alter the recipe or do I just use it as is?
Please see my FAQs: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/
Absolutely delicious cake!!! It was fun and easy to make. I’m not an experienced baker, and I found the recipe to be clear and straightforward. The chiffon came out light and fluffy and the frosting is not too sweet and very versatile. Loved the blueberry! I can’t wait to try more of Curly Girl’s bakes!! 5 stars 🙂
I am currently going to Pastry school. Last week we had to make a chiffon cake. The first one sank in the middle as did the 2nd and 3rd. I asked my instructor why, he didn’t know. Well I decided to use this high altitude recipe. It turned out so well! I’ve decided to use it for my final cake in a few weeks!
Can I use this to make stacked cake? So can I use a couple 6” cake pans?
I’ve addressed this question in the recipe variations section within this post. This recipe will make three 8-inch cake layers. Please see the full details in the post.