Coconut Chiffon Cake: how to make with coconut milk

You wouldn’t think that this impressive Coconut Chiffon Cake is so easy to make. This easy dessert recipe is a coconut version of the classic chiffon cake.

It has a light, delicate coconut flavor, with an airy and fluffy texture. To make it, you will need a special tube pan or Bundt pan. Fortunately, you don’t need any fancy ingredients, simply get together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, coconut milk, and vegetable oil.

With a few easy steps and a handful of ingredients, there’s no excuse not to make this cake. Each bite of this coconut chiffon cake will be like biting into a cloud!

What is Chiffon Cake?

Chiffon Cake was named by its inventor, Harry Baker, and gets its name from its light and fluffy texture. Unlike other sponge cakes which are made with artificial leavener, a chiffon cake incorporates whipped egg whites which provide the lift in the cake.

How to make Coconut Chiffon Cake

To make the Coconut Chiffon Cake, the wet ingredients (all but the egg whites) are first whisked until smooth. Then the egg whites are whisked until stiff peaks form, and the two are folded together. It’s important not to overbeat the mixture once you add the whipped egg whites, otherwise, you will beat out the air and your cake won’t be as airy.

Expert Tips

Use a tube pan, or Bundt Cake Pan, and make sure not to grease it! Any cake pan with a hole in the middle will work—the hole is necessary for proper heat distribution. It’s important NOT to grease the pan. The cake needs to cling to the sides. As it bakes it will rise, so using a greased pan will cause it to collapse. You must use one of these pans and not a solid cake pan.

Because the cake gets most of its height from the whipped egg whites, it’s very delicate. It’s therefore important to invert the chiffon cake pan and allow it to cool this way so that it doesn’t collapse. This will make for a fluffy cake! It also prevents trapped steam which would otherwise make the cake soggy.

There are many ways to enjoy this cake! Dust with powdered sugar, serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or add a raspberry filling.

You can use lemon flavoring and lemon zest, or lime curd and zest in the filling.

You can even add mashed ripe banana in the filling or pineapple juice.

How to store and freeze Coconut Chiffon Cake

A chiffon cake will keep well for a few days. Keep in an airtight container. Individually sliced leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge.

Instructions

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Then add in all the wet ingredients except for egg whites.

Whisk the egg whites with sugar, until the mixture forms stiff peaks when the whisk is removed.

Gradually add the whipped egg whites into the other mixture and mix with a whisk.

Pour the mixture into the tube pan, make sure to pop all the bubbles. Tap the pan onto the surface to release all air bubbles in the mixture.

Preheat oven to 120 °C, baking mode: convection top and bottom heating elements without a fan. Bake for 1 hr and 15 mins, after that, change the mode to convection (with fan) and increase the temperature to 150 °C, after reached the needed temperature, continue baking for another 20 minutes. Turn the pan upside down and set it aside to cool down, remove after cooled down.

Notes

Make sure that you don’t use a non-stick or greased cake pan for this recipe. Otherwise, the chiffon cake won't rise properly and will deflate.