This was a mistake! I was filming social media for Lifeway Kefir products and noticed my glaze was not thick enough to pour over this cake. I started to pour anyways, it came out fast, and soaked my cakes. I wanted just a teeny tiny but to soak the sponge but instead below you can see I am not great at executing the plan I had with a phone in hand and 1 pair of eyes to watch the screen and pour at the same time! So, I thought, let’s make this a skinny tres leches version of a chiffon.
Best cake ever. Period!
I was SHOCKED how much I loved vanilla cake, orange flavor, and soaked sponge. This cake has it all, light and airy with a buttery vanilla finish complimented by a sweet orange tang. Chiffon is meant to be similar to angel food cake, any substitutions you make cannot replace the texture but you can get pretty darn close! I couldn’t find my tube pan so I used a mini bundt pan and a standard bundt pan. I wouldn’t highly recommend a mini bundt pan but the standard worked out well.
More than likely next time I make this cake it will be a in a baking pan so I don’t have to invert anything and less clean up. I did everything wrong in this recipe to make sure it would work out the same with substitutions, and it worked!
The reason I say ungreased tube pan is because the content of this recipe is simple, eggs, sugar, flour, which is basic but also a high sugar ratio so it will pull away from the sides by itself in the tube pan. You will want to invert, reason for that is so it doesn’t inflate! You can’t do that with many cakes so this one is literally a science when it comes to ingredients.
I used all purpose flour and replaced 4 tablespoons with cornstarch, it was a beautiful cake! Keep an eye on your sponge in the oven, even if you over bake it a little the kefir will help hide it! If not using kefir and you want just a regular sponge, check your cake any time after 30-40 minutes just to make sure, not all ovens are the same!
Kefir is loaded with probiotic so instead of making this a sugary glaze, I used this product (similar to yogurt) with powdered sugar to help even out the playing field. I have to give myself a pat on the back for this one. You can find this product at your local grocery store.
Chiffon Tres Leches
Perfect dessert to feed a crowd!
Ingredients
- 7 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 cup cake flour, sifted*
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 7 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup cold water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups blood orange kefir
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon water
- Zest of 1 orange
Directions
- Pre-Heat oven to 325 degree F.
- In a large bowl add egg whites and cream of tartar
- In a separate bowl add cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, yolks, oil, water, and vanilla extract.
- Beat egg whites with hand beater until stiff peaks form, about 3-4 minutes.
- Using the same beater, beat flour mixture together until combined.
- Fold in egg whites into cake batter until no white streaks remain.
- Place into ungreased 10” tube pan, or greased 9×11 baking pan or pans, greased bundt pan, mini bundt pan. Lots of options here.
- Bake 55-60 minutes or until tooth comes out clean, top will be golden brown. For any pan other than standard bundt pan or tube pan, reduce your baking time to about 20-30 minutes and then bake in increments from there.
- Immediately invert if you using a tube pan, allow to cook if using bundt or baking sheet.
- Cool completely for 10” tube pan, cool for 15 minutes if using bundt pan, invert onto sheet pan. You will want to use a butter knife to help release the edges.
- For the kefir, blend together with water and powdered sugar in blender.
- Pour slowly over cake and sprinkle on your zest, allow to rest for 2 hours, best when soaked then placed in refrigerator. I like to do this best in a baking pan so the clean up isn’t as messy OR invert bundt cake onto cake cardboard cut outs so I can soak the sponge then transfer the cake to a pretty cake stand.
*For cake flour, you can use all purpose flour and substitute 4 tablespoon of flour for cornstarch.
