Mama’s Chiffon Roll Cake

Celebration after celebration, mama always comes back to this recipe.

I made several of these for this past Thanksgiving, with 3 different flavors, to varying success. My brother commented that I am far from mum’s standard, but I am getting better.

Here’s the original recipe, with orange slices. I’ll suggest adaptations for those with who prefer ube, matcha, strawberry, or even banana.

Make sure to separate egg whites from yolks as cleanly as possible. Done properly, the meringue will reach maximum volume.

My last and most important piece of advice: if making multiple batches, do not combine all the doubled, tripled, etc. ingredients together. If I am making more than one cake, I work on each set of ingredients to completion before starting the next. This is for consistency⁠— despite having the same ratios of ingredients, larger scale yields do not rise well. In addition, it is difficult to separate equal portions of batter into several sheet pans from one big bowl.

EQUIPMENT

• small saucepan
• a clean, dry plate
• one microwave-safe bowl
• three large bowls and beater whisks, preferably frozen
• 9″ x 13″ pan, lined with parchment paper
• stand mixer or hand beater
• whisk
• sieve
• rubber spatula

ingredients

PT 1. candied orange slices

• thinly sliced oranges (using knife or mandolin)
• 1/2 cup sugar*
• 1/2 cup water*

*as long as the 1:1 ratio of sugar to water is preserved, you can make as much or as little simple syrup as you need.

PT 2. egg yolk mixture

• 4 egg yolks
• 55g water OR milk for richness
• 40g corn oil
• 25g sugar
• 65g cake flour, sifted (adjusted from the original 55g based on testing)

PT 3. meringue mixture

• 4 egg whites
• a few drops white vinegar
• a few drops lemon juice
• a pinch of cream of tartar
• 25g sugar

PT 4. stabilized whipped cream

• one pint heavy whipping cream
• a few drops white vinegar
• a pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• a few tablespoons water
• one packet neutral-flavored gelatin

PT 5. fruit filling (optional)

• peeled small clementines OR canned mandarin oranges

PROCEDURE

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. PT 1. Stir sugar in water until dissolved and bubbling. Add the orange slices. Allow the fruit to candy in the syrup for 10 minutes on medium heat. Remove from the pot and let dry on a clean plate.
3. In a bowl, hand whisk PT 2 ingredients together until uniform.
4. Preceding PT 3 & 4, moisten a paper towel with white vinegar and wipe down both bowls. This prevents any traces of fat on the equipment from “breaking” the emulsion of either egg whites or cream.
5. In another cold bowl, combine all PT 3 ingredients EXCEPT sugar. Over the course of 10 minutes, add the sugar in thirds. Start the beater on low-medium speed. Once “fish-eye” size bubbles are achieved, mix on HIGH. Stop when stiff peaks have been achieved.
6. Incorporate 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture and fold gently with a spatula. The goal here is to leave as many air pockets in the batter as possible. Add the rest of the meringue and stir lightly.
7. Stagger the candied orange slices along the bottom of the pan, leaving a few centimeters between each slice placed. The best looking arrangement occurs when the oranges look randomly scattered, as opposed to even rows. You may leave the last quarter length of the pan orange-less, as that part of the cake will be hidden inside the roll.
8. Pour the combined mixture into a 9″ x 13″ pan lined with parchment.
9. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool at room temperature.
10. While the cake is still warm, approx. 10 minutes to cool, roll the cake and parchment into a tight roll. Refrigerate immediately.
11. PT 4. In a third bowl, begin whipping cream with sugar and cream of tartar on HIGH. Sprinkle gelatin over water in a heat-safe container and microwave for 30 seconds. When the cream reaches a stiff-peak consistency, add the dissolved gelatin to the cream, then homogenize. Set aside and refrigerate.
12. Using an offset spatula or piping bag, fill the roll with cream and optional fruit filling. Remove parchment during this step. Slice and serve.

ALTERNATIVE ITERATIONS

1. Exclude candied orange slices and fruit filling, i.e. skip PT 1 & 5.
2. Add the desired flavoring and gel coloring** to the egg yolk mixture only, before combining PT 2 & 3 (yolk and meringue), so as to preserve the meringue. Whisk vigorously to avoid small blemishes of concentrated color in the batter.
3. When rolling the cake after it has cooled, flip the pan over so that the bottom is face up. I suggest rolling in this direction because the color sediment tends to settle to the bottom, in an uneven manner. With that surface placed on the inside, the outcome is much more neat, as the cream covers the imperfections.
4. If strawberry: add diced fresh strawberries into cream.
5. If banana: roll a whole banana into the center of the cake.

**	UBE	MATCHA	STRAWBERRY	BANANA
FLAVOR (tsp)	2 tsp extract	4 tsp powder	2 tsp vanilla	2 tsp extract
COLOR (drops)	5 red, 5 blue	4 yellow, 6 green	3 drops red	3 drops yellow