Lemon ( make it Meyer if you can)
buttermilk chiffon cake
I hate myself for asking you to source Meyer lemons for this
cake, but know that you can absolutely use a regular lemon.

Meyer lemons are the unicorn of citrus – find them in backyards
and relish their softly sour, lemon blossom-scented juice and
zest. They also have a thin skin and pith and softer sourness
than other lemon varieties. All my previous attempts at a juice-
based Meyer lemon chiffon ended up with the cake falling out
of the tin while cooling. I suspect the acidity makes it happen,
but I am still researching. Leaning on the zest to bring the citrus
and replacing the frustrating juice with buttermilk made a cake
with the citrus scent I wanted and the cool down ‘ piece’ of mind
I needed.

Preheat the oven to 150°C ( 300°F). You will need a 25 cm ( 10 in)
two- part angel food cake tin, preferably aluminium ( NOT dark metal
or non- stick). Do not grease the tin.

Contrary to everything else you know about cakes, this one needs an
ungreased tin. The cake MUST stick to the side of the tin, especially when it
is inverted, so it stays in the tin to cool. The sound of a chiffon cake falling
out of the tin is he artbreaking and I never want that to happen to you.

Set up a bottle to place the chiffon tin on. Check that the bottle is the
right size for the hole in the tin. It is best not to face this question when you
have a hot cake, quickly deflating, in your oven mitt. Found one that works?
Great! Resume the bake.

Weigh the sugar into a small bowl and then take out 2 tablespoons
and set aside to add to the egg whites later on. Weigh the flours,
baking powder and salt into a bowl and sift into a second bowl. Sift
back into the original bowl, then set aside with a sieve on top.

Cornflour lightens the crumb colour to snowy white. The multiple siftings
will merge the flours ( which absorb moisture differently) so they enter the
batter as equal starches.

continued …
Keeps For 2 days in the tin at room
temperature. After frosting, it’s best
eaten that day. Without the frosting,
it freezes like a dream.

Makes A 23 cm ( 9 in) cake that will
serve 10–16 people. The frosting
makes a little extra, in case you need
to cover any un- pretty sides.

Takes Around 20 minutes to prep
and mix, 1 hour to bake and then
2–3 hours to cool.
300 g ( 10½ oz) caster
( superfine) sugar
200 g ( 7 oz) soft plain
( all- purpose) flour
40 g ( 1½ oz) cornflour
( cornstarch)
15 g (½ oz/ 3 teaspoons) baking
powder
2 g ( ¹⁄₁₆ oz/¼ teaspoon) fine
sea salt
300 g ( 10½ oz) egg white
( from approx. 10 eggs) +
140 g ( 5 oz) egg yolk
( from approx. 7 eggs)
4 g ( ⅛ oz/ ½ teaspoon) cream of
tartar
190 g/ ml ( 6½ oz) buttermilk
110 g/ ml ( 4 oz) neutral
vegetable oil
finely grated zest and juice of
3  golfball- sized Meyer lemons
½ × batch Citrus crisps (page 288) –
made with a Meyer lemon
1 × batch Fluffy yoghurt frosting
( page 259)