Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Sunshine Chiffon Cake

We don't watch much TV around here; too much to do, and never enough time. But the other night we were watching Desperate Housewives, and at the end Bree's husband was waiting at midnight for the pot roast she'd promised him, and she was crying while cooking it. I guess she forgot that really, the best reason for anyone's existence is to be loved by and love another (or that's my opinion). She forgot how very important she is to him, while making her work the center of her universe. How many unhappy people do just that today? OK, I know these are imaginary people, I'm just saying....

This caused me last night to decide to try a new cake that I just knew my dearly beloved would greatly enjoy: Sunshine Chiffon Cake. My husband doesn't have a very strong sweet tooth; he won't refuse a piece of cake, but certainly will never chase a chocolate cake around the house. He loves sponge cakes, and since this was similar, I decided to try it. It took about 10 minutes from fridge to oven, and was well worth the effort. Except that I think I'd better get a "real" tube pan. I stuffed it in my Bundt pan, ungreased, as the instructions stated, and it sort of stuck in the little ribs on the pan. Ryan told me it looked moth eaten, so I offered him a dill pickle for dessert (he decided that moth eaten was good, after all).

SUNSHINE CHIFFON CAKE

7 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp lemon extract

2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Combine flour, sugar, powder and salt in mixer bowl. Add water, oil, egg yolks, extract and lemon rind. Beat about 1 minute. Stop, scrape the bowl and beat one minute longer.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed until stiff, but not dry, 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually add the flour mixture, folding in with a rubber s
patula until just blended.

Pour the batter into an ungreased 10" tube pan. Bake at 325F for 60 to 75 minutes, or uintil the top springs back when lightly touched. Invert cake onto funnel or bottle, and cool completely. Drizzle with lemon glaze:

1-1/2 tbsp butter, softened
1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Stir together the butter and sugar. Add the lemon juice bit by bit until the glaze is of drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the cake and enjoy its tangy, springy goodness!
(And another reason I cater to my dearly beloved: When I was making the salad last night, a bug crawled out of the lettuce leaves which the farmer had delivered. You can hear the whole exchange, of course, in your head. Me, whispering: help! Me, softly, Help! When the bug started moving, me backing up frantically: "AIYEEEEYEEEEYEEE!!!!!")

15 comments:

Christo Gonzales said...

this sounds tasty and I bet it would be as good with orange or lime.....hmmmmm I wish I baked more often

Prudy said...

I love that you offered your son a pickle for dessert! Hilarious. Thanks for the meaningful reminder of what a little service at home can mean to a family.

maybelle's mom said...

That is so right about work and priorities. Funny that tv reminded you about it. And I am so using that pickle thing when I get any dessert complaints.

Linda said...

Hmmm, I haven't seen that recipe in years. My Mother in law was famous for it.

Pam said...

What a sweet wife you are - he is a lucky man. The cake looks really lovely.

I am not a fan of bugs crawling otu of my lettuce either - yuck!

Chronicles of Dolliedaydream said...

Yuuuum Marjie this looks delish - I am falling behind on copying your cakes - deffo want to try the silver cake this weekend!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

You are just too funny offering your son a pickle for dessert; he evidently got the message. Even though your cake stuck a little it looks so good and I love just about anything with lemon!

The Blonde Duck said...

Holy crap! I couldn't have eaten the salad after that! My OCD (seriously) husband would have been up all night. In college, his roomate moved a bag of potatos I'd bought to above the fridge where everyone (of course) promptly forgot them. Let's just say I spent hours scrubbing and removing gnats and maggots while my husband (who hunts) trembled in his room.

And I love your point. Even though we don't have kids, I tried to make my husband a big fancy meal Tuesday (more tommorow) and realized all he wanted was a cup of soup. Instead of getting stressed and freaking out, he would have prefered a calm house and frozen chili!

Marjie said...

Duckie, I couldn't eat the salad either, and I scrubbed the fridge afterward!

Anonymous said...

A pickle? Ha!

That frosting...oh hold me now.

Unknown said...

That's why everything gets washed well. It grows outside where bugs live after all.

The cake looks great. I've taken to super easy dinners. Last night it was a roasted pork and squash. Jay loved it and he served up the purchased carrot cake afterwards. g

Peter M said...

I'm amazed you're able to take any photos at all. With your army battalion of a family, food doesn't last long enough for a pic...especially this cake!

Paula said...

I love citrus flavors and I bet this tastes great! I keep meaning to ask if you've ever used your lemon curd as a topping or filling or whatever with your cakes. Sorry to hear about your creepy crawly experience. Well, at least you know your produce is not coated with chemical pesticides if that little bugger was able to hitch a ride to your house!

anudivya said...

The cake looks amazing!
Bug coming out of the lettuce, I would have freaked out as well... yikes.

Anonymous said...

I was thinking about making this with my new hand mixer and yours was one of the first things to come up on Google...thanks so much for the insight! I will definitely give it a try with the right pan.