Strawberry Chiffon Cake

100_0245 copy

I’ve wanted to make a strawberry-flavored chiffon cake for forever. :D However, it was a tad tricky trying to figure out how to introduce the flavor without compromising the structure and texture of the cake. I was a little hesitant about using fresh strawberries with their high water content for exactly this reason. Not only that, I wanted to avoid using artificial flavorings and/or colors, which pretty much exclude most of the strawberry milk products sold in the stores. Finally, I settled on experimenting with Trader Joe’s freeze-dried strawberries, which contains no other ingredient other than the strawberries themselves. How awesome is that!

The result was surprisingly delicious – the strawberry flavor turned out more delicate than expected, but that was not a bad thing. In this case, we felt that it actually compliments the texture/lightness of the chiffon really well. I was a little disappointed with the color though. Instead of a pale pink, the cake was more light brown in color. I tried to comfort myself with the knowledge that most strawberry-flavored foods in the stores got their pretty pink color artificially, and that despite the lack of “pinkness,” the cake still tasted delicious. :D For a fancier presentation, I would probably frost it with whipped cream and decorate with slices of fresh strawberries. Enjoy!

Grind the strawberries in a food processor until fine. Sieve.
Grind the strawberries in a food processor until fine. Sieve.

1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ cups sugar, divided
1 (1.2-ounce) package Trader Joe’s Freeze Dried Strawberries, ground and sieved
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 extra-large eggs, separated
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cream of tartar

  1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Whisk flour, ½ cup sugar, ground strawberries, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, oil, milk, and vanilla extract together.
  4. With an electric mixer, whip egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-low speed until foamy. Then increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip the whites until soft mounds form. Gradually add the remaining ¾ cup sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
  5. Whisk egg yolk mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Fold ⅓ of the whipped egg whites into the batter with a large rubber scraper until combined. Then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites.
  6. Pour batter into an ungreased tube pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Invert cake pan and let cake cool completely. To remove the cake, run a small, thin-blade knife around the edge (including around the tube) and bottom of the cake and gently tap to loosen it. Serve.
Whisk the dry ingredients together,
Whisk the dry ingredients together,
breaking up clumps of ground strawberries with a rubber scraper if necessary.
breaking up clumps of ground strawberries with a rubber scraper if necessary.
The batter was still a little pinkish before the addition of egg whites.
The batter was still a little pinkish before the addition of egg whites.
Lighten the batter and then, fold in the rest of the egg whites gently.
Lighten the batter and then, fold in the rest of the egg whites gently.
The cake turned out deliciously moist and tender.
The cake turned out deliciously moist and tender.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

5 Replies to “Strawberry Chiffon Cake”

  1. I love this, Chris. I bet your kitchen smelled heavenly :-)
    BTW, when you mentioned “whole” milk, is that equivalent to full cream milk? And cream of tartar? Is that similar to baking soda? Sorry, but I’m a nincompoop as far as baking is concerned :-(

    1. Hi Isadora, I actually wasn’t sure if whole milk is the same as full cream milk (LOL) but from googling, it sounds like they are the same thing. :D And cream of tartar is the opposite of baking soda, and in this case, is used to help stabilize the meringue. I’ve never actually substituted cream of tartar before but I’ve read that you could use an equal amount of lemon juice or vinegar instead. HTH. :D

  2. You’ll need: White cake mix, strawberry gelatin mix, cooking oil, milk, fresh strawberries, and Three Eggs.

  3. What a wonderful idea! I’ll bet it would make a great angel food cake, too!

    1. I’m sure it would, Lorinda. Thank you so much for dropping by. :D

Leave a Reply to Kristy LaraCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.