After interviewing Alice Medrich, I was so inspired that I swore I’d bake my way through her latest book Flavor Flours. It’s organized by type of flour, so I went out and bought heaps of sorghum, kilos of corn and tonnes of Thai rice flour.
And the best thing I’ve made from the book so far was this simple chiffon cake.
The cake is traditionally dairy-free and despite using oil (which is also traditional for a chiffon cake), it doesn’t taste oily. The corn flour gives it a naturally sweet taste, making it perfect on its own, without any adornment like jam or icing. Medrich recommends a little whipped cream, but I decided on my homemade vanilla-plum jam. Overkill, I admit. The cake’s honestly better on its own – this from a girl who used to wish that birthday cakes were made of only icing and not cake…
The best part of this chiffon cake is the crumb – the top crust where sugar seems to concentrate. The cake itself is rich and creamy thanks to a handful of egg yolks beaten into the flour mixture.
The fluffy texture of the simultaneously light and gluten-free cake comes from folding in beaten egg whites that are whipped to stiff peaks with sugar (follow Medrich’s directions and you’ll be fine).
And the best part? The cake even freezes well, so you can save your folding skills for the next time you feel like baking and instead eat leftover slices straight from the freezer – or just the crust, if you so wish…
No one’s watching.
From Flavor Flours: A New Way to Bake with Teff, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Other Whole & Ancient Grains, Nuts & Non-Wheat Flours
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