Passport
Baker
Joni
Location
Manitowoc
Baking Challenge
Wisconsin Chiffon Cake
Give your dessert a clever name — and tell us about your recipe.
Flavors of the Seasons
What was the biggest surprise during your baking journey? Did you use any unconventional approaches? What did you learn along the way? Tell us about it!
Chiffons need the egg whites whipped separately from the yolks, and not too dry of a whip. It makes a difference in the cake moisture. One cake had jello, one had pumpkin, one had chocolate. Lemon and orange zest added to a cake batter really adds a punch of flavor. Winter was the double chocolate chiffon with chocolate brandy sauce or hot fudge sauce. I learned it has got to be very small pieces of chopped chocolate for it to suspend within the delicate chiffon. Spring was, of course, the 'spring rolls.' (See what I did there?) Those were baked in a jelly roll pan, and they needed almost as much time to bake as the tube pans. Who knew? Rolling them takes four hands, and I recruited help! Summer was the strawberry gelatin cake with whipped cream. This one rose nicely. It was moist, but fell just a little upon cooling; I don't know why, but a nice, moist cake in the end. Fall was the pumpkin chiffon; it had only 1/3 cup pumpkin but that gave it the perfect amount of moisture — this one had the best texture.
How did you add a Wisconsin twist to your flavors or decoration?
I used flavors that remind me of the beautiful changing of seasons.
Winter – Double Chocolate Chiffon with Hot Fudge or Chocolate Brandy sauce. Dark colors remind me of the short winter days.
Spring – Lemon Chiffon with Limoncello Buttercream and Orange Chiffon with Creamsicle White Chocolate Mousse had bright sunshiny favors for spring.
Summer – is berry season so a strawberry jello chiffon with a fresh whipped cream (stabilized with meringue powder) was perfect.
Autumn – pumpkin chiffon with a cinnamon maple whip was moist and super flavorful!
I brought these to a family reunion. Baking is my passion and it's one way for people to show their family and friends how much they love them.
How did you do?
Pleasantly satisfied.
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