Recipe: Orange and Lemon Chiffon Cake (using olive oil, no egg yolks, tube cake)

ORANGE AND LEMON CHIFFON CAKE

"This has an absolutely delightful flavor, and no one will guess that it is made with extra-virgin olive oil or that the egg yolks found in a traditional chiffon cake have been dispensed with. Do use extra-virgin or virgin olive oil; it makes a serious contribution to the overall flavor."

2 lemons
1 or 2 navel oranges
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided use
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
Confectioner's sugar (for sprinkling on top)

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. You will need one 10x4-inch tube pan (a removable bottom is helpful). If the pan has a removable bottom, do nothing to it. If it does not, lightly grease the bottom. Line the bottom with wax paper or parchment paper cut to fit, and lightly grease the paper.

Scrub and dry the lemons and oranges. Grate the colored part of the peel, taking care not to grate any bitter white part, until you have (loosely packed) 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel and 2 teaspoons grated orange peel.* Juice the fruit and measure 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup lemon juice.

Put the flour, 1 cup of the sugar, and the baking powder into a large bowl. Stir to mix well. Add the oil, fruit juices, and grated peel. Beat smooth with a wooden spoon.

Put the egg whites and salt in a deep narrow bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, until they lose their yellow cast, greatly increase in volume, and begin to turn very white. While still beating, sprinkle in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time. The whites will become very thick and very white and the beaters will leave a deep trail.

Whisk or beat about one eighth of the whites into the flour mixture. With a large metal spoon or rubber spatula, fold or gently stir in the remaining whites. When well blended, pour the batter (8 cups) into the prepared pan.

Bake until golden brown, springy to the touch, and a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Turn the pan upside down on a wire rack. If the cake has baked higher than the rim of the pan, turn the pan upside down onto a beer or soda bottle (the bottle goes in the hollow tube). Leave on the countertop until the cake is completely cold.

Loosen the edges (and tube) with a knife. Turn out the cake, loosen and remove the pan bottom, or peel off the paper.

Serve freshly baked, or store airtight 1 day at room temperature before serving or freezing. The cake looks pretty sprinkled with confectioners' sugar before serving.

*Instead of grating the peel you can remove the peel of the lemons and one of the oranges with a vegetable peeler. Put them into a food processor or blender with the 1 cup of sugar and process 3 or 4 minutes (yes, that long) until chopped as fine as possible. The sugar will be moist. Add it with the oil, not the flour. Be sure not to try to whip it with the egg whites, because the citrus oils will deflate them.

Makes 1 tube cake , 16 servings
Source: Elizabeth Alston's Best Baking by Elizabeth Alston