Mandarin Orange Chiffon Cake by Susanne Ng

Mandarin Orange “吉” Chiffon Cake

3 egg yolks

25g caster sugar

50ml vegetable/canola oil

50ml mandarin orange juice

Zest of 1 small mandarin orange

80g cake flour (+ ½ tsp cake flour for the pattern)

Tiny dip of red gel food colouring (for the pattern)

3 small mandarin oranges

Meringue:

4 egg whites

45g caster sugar

¼ tsp cream of tartar

Method:-

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.

2. Prepare mandarin orange slices from 3 small oranges. Clean and then pat dry with a kitchen towel.

3. Beat egg yolks with sugar with whisk till pale yellow/white before stirring in oil and milk.

4. Next add in sieved flour and whisk till no trace of flour found.

5. Meringue:  Beat the egg whites with ¼ tsp cream of tartar till stiff peak, mixing in caster sugar in 2 additions.

6. Pattern: Scoop out 1.5 tsp of egg yolk batter, add in a tiny dip of red gel colouring and ½ tsp of cake flour. Mix into gruel and scoop over 3 tbsp of meringue. Quickly but gently fold it in till well-combined.

7. Use a wilton 5 tip to pipe the “吉” on the base of the chiffon tin. Rotate the tin as you pipe along the circular centre. Bake the patterns for 1.5 min.

8. Arrange the mandarin orange slices in the desired pattern at the base of the chiffon tin. In my case I used 2-3 slices of oranges to form the base of each “mandarin orange” in the cake.

9. Fold the rest of the meringue into the egg yolk batter in 3 additions using flexible spatula or hand.

10. Pour in the mandarin orange batter gently over the pattern and oranges.

11. Bake the cake in preheated 160°C oven for 50 minutes.

12. Invert when cake is removed from oven and unmould when cake is cool.

13. Complete the mandarin orange patterns in the cake by adding slices of mandarin oranges to create a 3D effect (there will be a slight groove to place them in).