CAKES - Chiffon Cakes

Banana Ogura Cake

July 18, 2017 | Recipe by Bake with Paws
Banana Ogura

Banana Ogura Cake


I have always wanted to bake a square chiffon cake. Thank you to Jeannie Tay for sharing the recipe. I am so happy that the cake turned out with no cracks.

This Banana Ogura Cake is very soft, fluffy and light compared to the regular Banana Cake which is a lot more dense.  Ogura is a catchy name and it means lovesick if you translate from Japanese.   In actual fact it is quite similar to a  chiffon cake but bake in a normal cake pan and water bath. 

If you like Banana Cake, I have another another Banana Cake Recipe that you may like to try.

I would suggest you read the following notes especially if you are don't bake often.

MERINGUE

Meringue plays a very important role in Chiffon Cake.  Over beating meringue may cause the cake to crack, while under beating will cause the cake to collapse or it may not rise much.

Use room temperature egg whites, this will yield more volume.  Cold egg whites will not whip well.  It is easier to separate your eggs when they are still cold, then leave the egg whites aside to come to room temperature. 

Make sure your bowl is clean and there is no any trace of egg yolk or fat.  Fat will interfere with the formation of meringue.

Use cream of tartar to stabilise the whipped meringue.  Cream of tartar is acidic and can be replaced with lemon juice or white vinegar. The replacement ratio is 1:2.  If your recipe asks for 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar, then replace with 1/2 tsp lemon juice.

Sources from herehere and here

Stages of Meringue:

Soft Peak – The meringue is soft and unable to hold its form, it will drip after you turn your whisk upside down.  You will see the ribbon lines, but it disappears the moment you stop whisking. 
 
Firm Peak – The peak will hold and fold back slightly when you turn your whisk upside down.  The meringue is glossy and the ribbon lines stay. This is the stage we look for if you do not want your cake to crack. 

Stiff Peak – The peak will hold straight and doesn’t fold back when you turn the whisk upside down.  The meringue is very glossy and thick too.  Most chiffon cake recipes will prescribe this stage but the cake will easily crack when baking.  However, if you don’t mind the cake cracking then it is fine. It doesn’t affect how the cake tastes.

Over-beating – The meringue looks grainy, broken and dull. We do not want this stage in baking as you will not be able to fold it into the flour batter nicely.

OVEN TEMPERATURE AND BAKING TIME

Do note that the baking temperature and timing provided are what works for my oven and should also be regarded as a guide only. Every oven behaves a little differently, so please adjust accordingly for your oven. 

It would be good to use an oven thermometer when baking. This will help you understand and know the actual temperature you are baking at. The actual temperature in the oven may not be the same as the oven’s setting.  Leave the thermometer on the same rack where you place your baking. 

I usually bake cakes with top and bottom heats setting.  I don’t encourage baking cakes with fan-forced mode as this setting uses a fan to circulate the hot air for quick baking or cooking at high temperature and may result in cracks on the cake.  However, if fan mode is used, it is recommended to reduce the temperature setting by about 20C if using a fan-forced mode.

WATER BATH vs DRY BAKE

For a water bath, the cake pan sits within another pan filled with a little water. Place the cake pan within a larger pan and pour hot water into the outer pan until it comes up to a level of 1.5cm – 2 cm.  Place the whole thing in oven and bake. 

The benefit of water bath is that it will moderate the baking temperature and prevent the cakes from cracking.  The cake texture will be very moist too.  

Chiffon cake baked without a water bath is more brown and crumbly.  Some may prefer this texture. Please make your own choice between water bath or dry bake. This is a very individual personal preference.  

If you have any questions regarding this recipe or any other post, please leave me a comment in the “LEAVE A COMMENT” link and I will reply you as soon as possible.

Recipe adapted from Jeannietay's Blog

Recipe - Banana Ogura Cake


INGREDIENTS:

5 egg yolks + 1 whole egg
60g corn oil
150g mashed banana

1/4 tsp Salt
80g Cake flour

5 Egg whites
1/4 tsp Cream of tartar
60g Sugar

Utensil :  
7″ square or 8″ round pan, greased the sides and line the bottom. Wrap the pan with aluminium foil so that the water doesn't get into the pan if spring form pan is used.


METHOD:
  1. Use hand whisk egg yolks, 1 whole egg and corn oil until frothy then add mashed banana and mix well. Sift in the flour and salt and mix again until well combined. Set aside while you prepare the meringue.
  2. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg white, cream of tartar and castor sugar until firm peaks formed (firm peaks is between soft peaks and stiff peaks).
  3. Mix 1/3 of meringue with yolk batter with a hand whisk. Add another 1/3 portion and fold gently with the whisk. Then pour in balance of meringue. Fold gently using a spatula until no more streaks of meringue can be seen.
  4. Pour batter into prepared pan and tap pan lightly to remove air bubbles.
  5. Bake in a water bath for 70 minutes at 160°C.
  6. Remove from the oven and drop the pan at a height of 10 cm onto a table top. This will prevent cake from sinking.
  7. Unmould as soon as you can. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and invert the cake on non stick baking paper. Peel off baking paper from the base and re-invert onto a rack to cool.

Comments

  1. Hi,
    On occasional times when baking ogura, there is a thin wax like layer at the bottom of the cake.... I do use parchment paper to line the bottom though. Can you please advise?
    Also why are there some wrinkles at the sides of the cake ? Thanks 🙏🏻

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for reading my post. I am not too sure too about the thin wax layer at the bottom of the cake. Maybe is the parchment paper. Try to use baking paper that stick and see what happen.

      It could be you lined the sides of the cake pan or the cake sink?

      Cheers :)

      Delete
    2. Thanks.... will try and see . No I didn’t line the sides of the cake pan

      Delete
    3. Hi, then it could be the lines after the cake sank.

      Delete
    4. Thanks again.i tried using Teflon sheet to line the base and at another time, another kind of parchment paper... both occasions still I had the thin wax layer at the bottom but the cake texture is ok .dont know why !
      Also is it advisable to overturn the ogura With the cake still in the cake pan after baking to prevent sinking?

      Delete
    5. Hi,

      If you want to invert the cake still in the cake pan, you need something to support at the 4 corners to prevent the cake pan of pressing on the cake. Please see the diagram or watch the video on below link:

      https://www.bakewithpaws.com/2017/07/pandan-cotton-cake-with-gula-melaka.html

      Cheers :)

      Delete
  2. Thank you.... yes.... I saw your diagram. Should it be inverted till it completely cools down ? The thin wax layer at the bottom.... could it be inadequate heat at the bottom ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi inverted for about 15 to 30 mins only. Maybe.. I am not too sure too.
      Cheers :)

      Delete
  3. Baked this cake today. It was so good! The sweetness was just right for me. I usually reduce sugar but at 60g I reckoned it was just right as the bananas I used were also not overly sweet. I lined the whole square pan with parchment paper. The cake rose beautifully and didn't sink after it has cooled. After 30mins of baking in my 900mm oven, I had to lower the temperature to 150°C as I noticed that it was cracking. After 10mins I lowered the temperature by another 10°C as it was browning quite quickly. It turned out perfect! Perhaps next time I will bake at 150°C instead. Thank you for this beautiful recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for trying this recipe and your kind feedback. Glad to hear that your cake turned out perfectly. The credit go to Jennie Tay who I adapted the recipe from.

      Maybe you should preheat your oven at 160C and reduce to 150C when start baking.

      Cheers and happy baking:)

      Delete
  4. Hello! Tried your recipe last night, and it looks wonderful. First time I am able to bake something in a water bath quite successfully? One question though. How long can the cake keep? Does it need to be refrigerated?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Thanks for trying and your kind feedback. It depends on room temperature at your place. My room temperature here is quite warm (29-30C). I usually store the cake in covered container in refrigerator after 1st day. Cheers :)

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  5. Hi, what is the substitute for cake flour?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, you can use plain flour or all purpose flour. Any low protein flour is fine.
      Cheers :)

      Delete

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