Ham & Cheese Chiffon Cake

This weekend task we experiment with Chiffon cake recipe again, but this time we tried making a savoury one instead of the usual sweet chiffon cake. I have read a Cheesy Chiffon Cake recipe from Kitchen Corner and it really draws my attention as I love anything that comes with melted cheese in it. Grace, who is the owner of Kitchen Corner has a wide collection of Chiffon Cake recipes that you might want to check it up if you are keen in trying different version of chiffon cakes.

For today's venture, we are making Ham & Cheese Chiffon Cake. As you can see from the picture, our little baker is keen in joining the process too...... He helps me to prepare some of the ingredients and whisking the egg yoke mixture while I prepare the weighing of some ingredients.

Our little Rey still come out with his very own copy of the Ingredients List which he helps mummy to keep track on the ingredients used and added. Although I want to try the cheesy chiffon cake idea from Grace's blog but I didn't use her recipe, instead I stick to my Sweet Potato Chiffon Cake Recipe and replace the ingredients with Ham and Shredded Mozella Cheese.

Ingredients:
80g Shredded Mozella Cheese
2 Slices of Breakfast Ham, cut in small slices
3 Large Egg Yolks
30g Caster Sugar
50ml Olive Oil
40ml Water
80g Top Flour/Cake Flour
Pinch of Salt
4 Large Egg Whites
30g Caster Sugar

Method:
1. Cut the ham into small bite size, then preheat the pan with some oil and pan-fry it for about 1 minute till fragrant, removed and drained well on kitchen paper towel.
2. Separate the egg yolks and white into two separate bowls. (carefully do not leave any trace of egg yolk in the egg whites mixture)
3. Use a balloon whisk to whisk the egg yolks and 30g of caster sugar(add in 3 separate additions) till thick and sticky.
4. Slowly drizzle in the oil while continue to whisk at the same time then follow by the water till the mixture is well combined.
5. Add the sifted flour mixture into the egg mixture and continue to whisk till the flour is fully incorporated into the batter.
6. Next stir in the cooked ham and shredded cheese using the whisk till combined.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 degree.
8. Beat egg whites and 1/3 of the caster sugar with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Then add in another 1/3 of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until almost soft peaks form then add in the last 1/3 of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. 9. Add the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, with the 1st addition using the balloon whisk to incorporate it into the yolk mixture till combine without trace of whites.
10. Next fold in the 2nd and 3rd addition of whites using the balloon whisk in a gentle manner in order not to knock off the air in the while, just fold till no trace of egg whites and the mixture are well combined.
11. Before pouring the mixture to the pan, use a spatula to give a final stir to make sure there is no flour or egg whites mixture at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
12. Lift up the bowl to height, then pour the mixture into the pan and tap the pan 2 - 3 times on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
13. Baked the cake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or when the surfaces turns golden brown. (I baked on the 2nd lower shelf of my built in oven using upper and lower heat function. You can insert a skewer into the centre and test if it comes out clean)
14. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately and let it rest on top of a cup. Let it cool completely before unmould.(refer to the picture below on how to invert the pan over a cup to cool down)
15. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife (i use a small rubber spatula) around the inside of the pan and the center core.
16. Release the cake and run the knife/spatula along the base of the pan to remove the cake.
17. Cut into serving size and serve with a cup of tea or coffee.

Note:
a) For this recipe, I didn't greased the tin even though I used the same recipe and method from the Sweet potato and Durian Chocolate Chiffon cake. I notice that the batter did claim up higher compare to the previous two and the outer layout of the crust are brownish as well.


From the picture, you can see the texture of this savoury Chiffon Cake is kind of different from the normal one. It has a lot of Air-Pocket in between which contain the melted cheese in it. To us, the taste was great especially with the added of ham which make the overall of the cake more fragrant. So if you like Ham & Cheese Bread, maybe you can consider on tying this out.