Rose Tea and Raspberry Yoghurt Chiffon Cake

I love the aroma of rose tea and it used to be a staple for me when I was expecting my first child (steeped in warm milk sometimes and I get hot Bandung minus the sugar!) and when I felt that the screaming and crying of my first born baby was getting on my nerves. Having bought these beautiful dried roses for home consumption again, I was waiting for a chance to bake a rose tea cake. For added moisture and subtle fruity flavor, I added raspberry yoghurt with some raspberry puree into the batter. Here's my simple but very soft, fluffy and moist bake :).

My parents loved it and took some home to share with my brother. Hubby agreed that the cake is nice too although he prefers it with more sugar added and said that it's a very adult kind of cake with the blend of flavors.

I adapted the recipe from Bake King, trying to be adventurous and testing the limits of how well the cake can hold it's structure while adding as much liquid as possible and using as little flour as possible.

Ingredients:

(A)

8g dried rose flowers

80ml hot water (not boiling)

(B)

3 egg yolks (I used large eggs ~ 65-69g)

15g caster sugar

30g Canola oil

16g raspberry yoghurt (you may use strawberry or plain yoghurt)

6g fresh raspberry puree (press about 5-6 raspberries through a sieve and discard the seeds)

61g cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1g (about 2tsp) of finely chopped rose petals

(C)

4 egg whites

45g caster sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Steps:

1. Add hot water to dried rose flowers and leave to cool. Strain 55ml of rose tea. Set aside.

2. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until it turns pale. Add oil, tea, yoghurt and raspberry puree and whisk until well combined.

3. Sift together cake flour and baking powder. Gradually add the flour mixture and whisk the egg yolk batter until no trace of flour can be seen. 

4. Stir in chopped rose petals.

5. In a clean metal bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form and the bowl can be overturned without the meringue falling out.

6. Fold in one third of the meringue into the egg yolk batter and mix well. Gently but quickly fold in the rest of the meringue in two additions. My batter looks like this... 

Isn't it pretty with the sprinkling of chopped rose petals?

7. Pour the batter into a 17cm chiffon tin and tap the tin on the table a few times to release any trapped air bubbles.

8. Bake in preheated oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes, followed by 150 degrees Celsius for another 25-30 minutes.

9. Immediately invert the tin to cool and gently unmould by hand. Use a spatula to help you release the cake if you are unable to unmould by hand as the cake is very soft.

10. Drizzle the cake with icing or melted white chocolate and garnish with extra rose petals. If you prefer cakes that are not so sweet, skip the icing although it helps to bring out the rose flavor more. Keep the cake chilled in the fridge and in an airtight container. It tastes better chilled :).

Here's a peek at the fine-textured, soft and fluffy insides!

There is some slight shrinkage as I reduced the amount of flour used so you may want to increase the amount of flour by a few grams.

Since this chiffon cake is an "adult cake", I got mixed reviews from my kids. My elder kid thinks the flavor is too strong but my younger one loves it very much. If you prefer a more mellow kind of flavor for cakes that is low in fat, sugar and calories, this is the cake for you :).

With love,

Phay Shing