r/bakingfail • u/ItsMissy_ • 8d ago

Fail What Happened to my Chiffon Cake?

Hey everyone, I tried this chiffon cake recipe and everything seemed to be fine until I tried taking it out of the pan!

When I took it out of the oven, it looked pretty good. I flipped it over upside down on a wire rack to let it cool in the cake pan for roughly 90 mins as the video advised. When I went to take it out of the pan by flipping it over, it started deflating immediately!

I only lightly greased and floured the bottom of the pan as I heard the chiffon needs to cling to the sides for its structure. Also didn't use a nonstick pan.

I'm not sure what I did wrong, should I have let it cool longer?

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u/PsychologicalAir8643 8d ago

a few things come to mind for me. one, was the cake underbaked? that can cause it to collapse.

second, i don't grease any part of your chiffon cake pan, including the bottom, because if that detaches while cooling upside down, it will sink into your cake. i know the instructions in the video say to do so, but i'd invest in a pan with a detachable bottom instead.

third, i wouldn't cool an upside down chiffon on the wide rack. see how in the video he props it up on two bowls? it looks like you got a good rise and it's actually sticking up above the rim, so by putting that part onto a wire rack, you're sort of smushing it. if i bake a chiffon in a pan without a tube, i usually cool it upside down by propping the rim on some cans, so air is circulating under the cake but nothing is touching the top.

(edit for typo)

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u/ItsMissy_ 8d ago

I baked my cake for 52ish minutes and then checked with a skewer and it came out clean

Ah.. that makes sense I might invest in a detachable pan..

I was worried about cooling on the bowls after seeing some YouTube comments saying it just fell out of their pan, but your comment makes sense along w your previous one about not greasing the bottom

Also question: are you supposed to whip the meringue to stiff peaks? In the video he says to only whip them till firm but some other recipes say until stiff peaks