Masa Harina Chiffon Cake
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Last week I retired the Masa Peach Melba cake that I was making all throughout July and August at my bakery. It’s important to me to bake seasonally and locally as much as possible, and peach season has come and gone now. As a parting gesture I’m sharing the recipe for the masa harina chiffon cake, the foundation for the Masa Peach Melba. It’s got just enough masa flavor to be noticeable but doesn’t overpower the peach melba jam. Instead the chiffon and jam harmonize to really taste like a peach and raspberry cobbler made with a bit of masa. I’m thankful people seemed to love it; it is flattering to create a dessert based on whim, on a daydream, on a craving and have other people want to indulge in it with you.
This recipe can bake up as a tall three layer 6-inch round cake; a two layer 8-inch round cake or as a thin 9x13 quarter sheet cake. Do be sure to leave the cake pans ungreased, which I know goes against most cake recipe instructions. The reason we do not grease our (preferably aluminum) cake pans for chiffon is because the batter needs to adhere to the side of the pan, ensuring it rises properly. If you were to spray the cake pan with cooking spray, the chiffon would likely bake up flat, dense, and not at all airy and light as we are going for.
The other major difference in a chiffon recipe is inverting the pans after baking so that gravity works for and not against your cakes. By cooling them upside down, the cake will have very little chance to collapse, something chiffon cakes are notorious for, as it comes to room temperature. This cake is delicate, but don’t let that freak you out.
One thing you'll notice about this recipe is I have listed the sugar amounts separately instead of writing ", divided". This is because we are (or should be) weighing the ingredients and it would be a bit annoying I think to weigh out the total amount of sugar used in this recipe (230 grams) and then weigh out each divided amount again. That would annoy me at least! So, I advise to do your mise en place and have the sugar amounts separated and ready to go before you begin the recipe.
With a chiffon cake it's imperative that the egg whites are whipped just barely to stiff peaks; if the egg whites are too stiff, the cake will be dry once baked. If the egg whites are too soft, the cake won't rise and could collapse entirely after it comes out of the oven (this is also why we cool chiffon cakes upside down). This is a good explainer of how to properly whip egg whites.
I opted for a quick whipped cream frosting that was stabilized with softened mascarpone this week, but of course you can use your favorite frosting. I didn’t have much time to get very good pictures this week, and my whipped cream is clearly overwhipped but I will live! Next week I’ll return with something savory, but bakery life the following week will demand all my time so there won’t be a recipe. Starting in October? A bevy of holiday recipes to commence!
Masa Harina Chiffon Cake
Yield: three 6-inch cake layers; two 8-inch round cake layers; one thin quarter sheet cake (9x13-inch) layer
160 grams (1 ⅓ cups) cake flour or all-purpose flour, sifted
55 grams (½ cup) masa harina, sifted
130 grams (⅔ cup) granulated sugar (for dry ingredients), sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅔ cup full-fat cow’s milk, room temperature
4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
66 grams (about 6 tablespoons) olive oil or neutral oil
½ tablespoon vanilla bean paste or extract
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar (for egg whites)
To prep:
Set oven to 350F; line two 8-inch round aluminum cake pans with parchment on the bottom. Do not grease the pans. Weigh out or measure the dry ingredients and wet ingredients and have them ready.
Mix dry ingredients:
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, masa harina, 130 grams (⅔ cups) granulated sugar labeled “(for dry ingredients)”, and baking powder; sprinkle in the kosher salt. Whisk to combine everything.
Mix wet ingredients:
In a 4 cup liquid measuring cup or another mixing bowl, pour in the milk, egg yolks, olive or neutral oil and vanilla. Thoroughly whisk to combine everything.
Combine dry + wet ingredients:
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; slowly pour wet ingredients into the flour mixture, whisking as you pour, until no dry pockets of flour remain. The batter will be quite thick.
Whip the egg whites:
To the bowl of a stand mixer add the room temperature egg whites and the cream of tartar. Set the mixer to medium-high speed (speed 8 on a Kitchenaid mixer) and whip egg whites until frothy, foamy, and nearly doubled in size.
Once egg whites have reached this stage, and only then, sprinkle in the 100 grams (½ cup) of granulated sugar labeled “(for egg whites)” about a teaspoon at a time. Let the sugar fully incorporate into the egg whites for a full 5 seconds before adding in more sugar, a little at a time until it has all been added. Once egg whites are glossy and have reached stiff peaks, they’re ready to be folded into the cake batter.
Fold egg whites into batter; bake the cake:
Very gently and carefully, fold in about ⅓ of the whipped egg whites to the cake batter. Be mindful to not overmix or deflate the egg whites, but do remember to gently scrape the bottom of the bowl every now and again as you’re folding. Continue adding the egg whites until you have a very light and airy pale yellow cake batter.
Distribute the batter evenly between the cake pans; bake cake layers for 30-35 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes have browned a bit and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly free of crumbs.
Cool the cake upside down:
Set cake layers on a cooling rack for a few minutes before flipping them upside to cool. Once cool to the touch, remove cakes from the pans and wrap with plastic until you’re ready to frost and decorate.