Foaming cakes! (Chiffon, Genoise, Angel Food Cake)

Or rather.... cakes made using different foaming methods. In this class (day 3 of Intro to Pastry, not that the class number matters when posted on a blog) we talked about the different types of foam cakes. The term foam refers to the foam texture that is created when you whip whole eggs, yolks, whites, or a combination of the above egg parts. Cakes that are commonly made with the foaming method include: sponge cakes, Chiffon, Angel Food. Sponge cakes can be divided into separated egg sponge cakes and whole egg sponge cakes (Genoise is an example of this). Below are the methods for a yellow Chiffon cake, a yellow Genoise cake, and an Angel Food Cake.

The baking times in this section are very approximate. The best way to test a cake is by touch. It should be firm yet bounce back slightly when you touch it. With foam cakes you have to be very carful of oven spring disruption (opening the oven while the leavening is taking place and "sinking" your cake). If you are baking it in a conventional oven you need to turn the cake in the last 5 minutes of baking. Not before!

Chiffon cake*: panned in a half sheet pan
Chiffon cakes are a light and airy cake that retains its moisture well because of the oil that is used for the fat agent. It is not too sweet because of the oil, so it is often perfect for ice cream cakes because of these two factors.

Formula: Yields 3lb. 3 oz.
10 oz. (100%) Cake flour
8 oz. (80%) Sugar
0.25 oz. (2.5%) Salt
0.5 oz. (5%) Baking powder
5 oz. (50%) Vegetable oil
5 oz. (50%) Egg yolks
7.5 (75%) Water
0.25 oz. (2.5%) Vanilla extract
10 oz. (100%) Egg whites
5 oz. (50%) Sugar
0.05 oz (5/8t) (0.5%) Cream of tartar

*Gisslen pg. 406

MOP: Chiffon method
Take your flour, salt, leavening agent and sift into mixing bowl. If you dont have a sifter and cant sift it use the whisk attachment and put the machine in low speed (one or two for a kitchen aide, one for a hobart) and mix briefly. Turn off. Combine sugar (8oz.), vanilla, egg yolks, oil, and water. Pour the liquid mixture into bowl and mix on low speed to incorporate.

Then increase to high speed and mix until it reaches a whipped, pale yellow, liquid/smooth consistency. Turn off the mixer and either grab a clean mixing bowl and whisk attachment or transfer to another bowl and wash the mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly.

In clean bowl. Whisk together cream of tartar, egg whites, and sugar (5oz. portion). Whip to a medium peak.

While the egg whites are foaming get your half sheet pan ready with parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. The pan doesn't need to be sprayed as you want a foam based cake to raise as much as it can, and since it doesn't have any other leavening agent except for the eggs you want it to grip to the sides of the pan and not sink back into the pan while baking.

When the egg white foam reaches a medium peak you want to fold this foam into the cake batter by hand. By using your hands,

fingers, to fold it in you can feel all the batter mix into the foam. You are also more careful to not over mix because you can feel the lightness or stiffness of the batter.

Pour the batter immediately into the pan from the center. Use your offset spatula to smooth out and push the batter to the edges of the pan. You don't want to knock down the batter at all because you will break the foam you've just created. Bake immediately at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in a convection oven. For approximately 18-20 minutes. Or until done. It should come out a dark golden

colour and should be firm yet bounce back to your touch.




Genoise*: panned in a Genoise pan (this recipe fits a 9"/10" pan)
Genoise pans come in different sizes but they are traditionally a flat bottomed pan that is smaller on the bottom then the top.

Formula: Yields one 9" pan
6 Eggs at room temperature**
185 grams Sugar
185 grams Pastry Flour***

*This is a very basic or generic recipe that came from our classroom but if you want to look at a text reference its on pg. 407 in the Gisslen text.
**If the eggs are not at room temperature they wont foam correctly. You can hold a steam bath or a blow torch under your bowl to heat it up wile whipping, or you can whip longer. But the best and easiest solution is to just use room temperature pasteurized eggs (so you don't have to worry too much about salmonella.... now that I have a larger audience then my sister and my friend Dana I apologize if no one finds that an appropriate or funny comment).
***As always in any recipe/formula I give out, the type of flour used is recommended. If you don't have or cant find pastry/cake/bread/unbleached/enriched/etc. flour its not the end of the world. But using the specified flour will improve the quality of your product because thats the density of bleached flour/structure thats desired for that product.


This is a really delicate cake, so you want to have everything prepped before you mix the cake, and you absolutely do not want to open the oven once you put the cake is put in until it is finished baking.

MOP: Whole egg sponge method
Prep pan. Cut out or place a circle of parchment paper the size of the bottom of your pan. Spray the sides of the pan and set aside.

Put eggs in a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, add sugar into the bowl and mix on high until the colour changes to a pale yellow and you start to see the batter spit up on the sides of the bowl, you'll also start to see a reverse spin in the mixing of the batter in the bowl. While you are waiting for the mixture form, sift the flour twice.
Turn off the mixer when its mixed. Pour the flour into the bowl and fold with your hands, turning until the flour is fully incorporated. Use your hands because you will better feel that all the flour lumps have incorporated (without over mixing) this way. Wipe off your hands on the side of the bowl and use a spatula to wipe all excess batter off the top/sides of the bowl.

Pour the batter into the pan. Do not knock on the table. But you can use your palm and fingers to smooth the batter out.

Bake immediately at 350 degrees in a convection oven until a light brown colour. Approximately 20-22 minutes. Its easiest to un-pan this cake when its hot, be careful! Get a 9" cake card and sugar. Dust the cake with sugar and flip over onto the cake card.




Angel Food Cake: panned in a 9" angel food pan or tube pan

Formula: Yields 9 oz.
8 oz. (267%) Egg whites
1.7 g. (2%) Cream of tartar*
1/4 t (1.5%) Salt
4 oz. (133%) Sugar
1/2 t (2.5%) Vanilla
1/4 t (1.25%) Almond extract
4 oz. (133%) Sugar
3 oz. (100%) Cake Flour

* Cream of tartar can be omitted if it is not too hot outside. It acts as a flavour enhancer and stabilizer which is really beneficial if you are worry about the foaming quality or ability of your eggs. This is especially a problem in the warm and moist weather months.

MOP: Angel food method
In mixing bowl combine egg whites, one portion of the sugar, salt, and cream of tartar (if you are using it). whip this on high to a medium peak. While this is whipping, sift flour and combine with other portion of sugar (you can just sift the sugar with the flour, but there is no need to sift sugar unless it is very old and has begun to form into hard rocks).
When the egg whites start to look like they are reaching a medium peak, stop the mixer and add in the vanilla and almond extract. Continue mixing till it reaches a medium peak. (You can add in the vanilla and almond extract at any point, but just incase the eggs break its safest to add it at the end).

Stop the mixer when the egg whites reach a medium peak and pour the sifted flour and sugar into the bowl. Mix by hand and fully incorporate the batter. Pour batter into mold immediately. Gently use your fingers to push the batter into the corners of the mold, you can also use your palm to smooth out the surface of the cake. You can bang the cake pan on the counter gently once to get the batter to reach down into the corners, don't bang more then once because you run the risk of breaking the nice foam you've just created.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in a convection oven, about 20-30 minutes, or until done. When the cake is baking it will rise and then fall in the pan, this is natural. When it finishes baking turn the pan upside down to cool.

If you are lucky enough to have a deck oven with different settings for where the heat is coming from these are the desired settings: 350 degrees, 10 front, 8 top, 6 bottom. Bake on a rack for approximately 30 minutes.