Lemon Chiffon Cake
Lemon Chiffon Cake is made with whipped eggs and oil. Oil makes the cake moist, and whipped eggs make it light. This recipe can be baked as a layer cake or in a tube pan.
What is Chiffon Cake?
Chiffon cake is sort-of a cross between a rich buttery cake and an airy sponge cake. It’s got the best of both worlds. This chiffon cake is flavored with lots of fresh lemon juice and zest for a bright and vibrant flavor.
When baked in an ungreased tube pan, this cake puffs up super-high and is light as a cloud. This is why I don’t recommend using a non-stick tube pan. You want the batter to grip the sides of the pan and rise high.
The cake is made with oil and lemon juice in the batter, which helps create the soft crumb in the cake.
The oil not only adds moisture to the cake but it coats the flour, which prevents gluten formation. Acidic lemon juice is also a tenderizer.
Scroll through the process photos to see how to make Lemon Chiffon Cake:
You also should try my Vanilla Chiffon cake and Chocolate Chiffon cake recipes.
Lemon Chiffon Cake is baked into layers to make a fabulous Blackberry Lemon Cake.
I have so many cake recipe for you to try. Vanilla Buttermilk Cake, White Cake, Vanilla Butter Cake, Chocolate Butter Cake, Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Genoise and Chocolate Genoise.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a star rating and a quick comment. Ratings and comments help my recipes show in search results. Thanks!
Lemon Chiffon Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 oz vegetable oil (1/2 cup)
- 12 oz granulated sugar (1 1/2 cups, divided)
- 6 large eggs (room temp, separated)
- 6 oz lemon juice (about 5 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (finely grated)
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 10 oz cake flour (2 1/4 cups, see note)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. For a traditional chiffon cake, use an ungreased 10" tube pan (not non-stick). If you want to make a layer cake line two 9” or 8"x3" cake pans with parchment paper or butter and flour the bottom of the pans only.
- Combine the oil, 1 cup of the sugar and egg yolks in a mixer bowl and stir to combine. Add the lemon juice, zest and extract. Mix on medium speed until well combined.3 1/2 oz vegetable oil, 6 large eggs, 12 oz granulated sugar, 6 oz lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients to yolk mixture. Whip on high speed for 1 minute, then set aside10 oz cake flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- Whip the egg whites on medium speed to soft peak. Gradually add the remaining ½ cup sugar, increase the speed to medium high and whip to full peak. Fold the whites into the yolk mixture in three increments.6 large eggs, 12 oz granulated sugar
- If making a layer cake, divide the batter between the two pans. If you're using a tube pan, pour all the batter into the pan. Bake until the middle of the cake springs back with lightly pressed, 30-35 minutes for the layers or about 50-60 minutes for the tube pan.
- Cool the cake completely in the pan.
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I live in Denver, do I need to make adjustments for higher altitude?
Probably, but I’m not a high altitude expert. Perhaps another reader with knowledge could weigh-in?
I made this in a stainless tube pan and it was hard to get out of pan even though I turned it upside down, it had the middle tube longer so it was like having legs. But it tasted like too much lemon, like a metallic taste. will try next time with only 4 lemons. No lemon zest, or extract, or extra lemon juice. Oven time was too long. Was baked at 325 degrees, was done at 30 minutes. Will check my oven with a external oven thermometer.
Is it possible to halve the recipe?
Yes. What type of pan do you plan to bake it in? You’d have to alter the baking time depending on the pan you use.
This is a wonderful, light summer cake! So refreshing! I can’t wait to try it with different flavors and fillings!
This cake is great – because all the components are great! And it gives me inspiration to switch up the type of berries!
Absolutely, any berry would work with this cake.
Hi Eileen,
I am not a fan of lemon. Can I completely skip all lemon elements? What can I use in lieu of lemon juice, if that liquid is essential for the structure of the cake?
Many thanks in advance!
Here’s a recipe for Vanilla Chiffon Cake.
@Mira, orange
Delicious
I couldn’t get enough of this cake
I just baked this cake today in a tube pan. Because it was a chiffon cake so I thought flipping it over to cool would prevent the cake from sinking. But the moment I flipped it over, the whole cake dropped on the counter. So should I not flip it?
Also, can I bake the cake in jumbo muffin pan? Because so want to make them into lemon cupcakes. Please advise.
Was your pan a non-stick pan?
Hi Eileen,
Love lemon in cakes, what size layer pans would you recommend, and thank you for including metric measurements, so much more accurate also.
Thanks Carol.
As I recommend in the recipe, I use a 10″ tube pan or two 9″x3″ round pans if you want to make a layer cake.
What would you use as a filling for the layer cake? I feel like buttercream might be too heavy.
Love your content, thank you for sharing your amazing recipes! Greetings from Germany
Next week I’ll be posted a recipe for Blackberry Lemon Cake using this recipe for the layers. The cake will be filled with blackberry buttercream and lemon curd. It would also be nice filled with whipped cream or mousse.
It sounds delicious! How do you get the cake out of the ungreased tube pan without it sticking & breaking apart? I want to try it but not greasing it makes me pretty nervous because tube pans are hard enough for me with grease/flour but ungreased…takes my breath! 😉
Usually, the tube pans have a removeable bottom. Once the cake is cool (it often pulls away from the sides as it cools) separate the pan. I use a paring knife or small spatula to make sure the cake is separated from the inner tube then flip it out onto a serving plate. You can either serve it “upside down” or flip it back over.