Taisan (Filipino Chiffon Cake)

Ever been to a Goldilocks store?  You most probably have seen a loaf enveloped in a golden crust, topped with butter, sugar and cheese.  You most probably caved in and bought one.  Or two.  You most probably couldn't wait til you get home and enjoy a slice or even finish the entire thing.

Coffee can help you down all that goodness.  They are a perfect pair, believe me.

And that's what we're making today, folks!  Taisan a la Goldi's!

It occurred to me only recently that I should attempt to make my favorite Filipino desserts at home.  And because why shouldn't I?!  Here I am, a Filipino, bookmarking cookies and cupcakes from everywhere, and totally forgetting that locally, we have a lot to offer, too.

I started with a family fave, cassava cake, and I'll be gentle about it: you need this in your life.  ASAP.

And we're moving on to this lovely Taisan, or chiffon cake, from Salu-Salo!

Doesn't look as visually appealing as Goldi's or anybody else's but tastes just absolutely great!

So let's talk about the recipe.  It's a chiffon cake.  To me, chiffon cake = the daunting task of separating the egg whites from the yolks.  I always find myself saying a silent prayer whenever I crack open an egg and plead to the angels that the yolk doesn't bleed.  I don't know.  The whole process just stresses me out.

But I still do it.  Sabi nga nila 'practice makes everything perfect'. But do you know of any trick to make separating whites from yolks any easier? Please, I need to know about it!

But once you've overcome the task of gathering 4 yolks and 6 whites, the chiffon comes together rather quickly.  And if separating whites from yolks is easy peasy to you, lucky you, lucky you, but all the more faster you'll have cake to enjoy.

Whenever a recipes asks to whip eggs whites, I always do it first with the help of my handheld mixer.  After reaching whatever peak is required, I just set it aside and do the rest.

So after everything has been carefully folded, it's time to pour into the baking pan! But which pan should I use?  The batter definitely wouldn't fit in 7-inch loaf pans.  Heck!  Not even on a 9-inch loaf pan it won't!  So my mother, like the amazing to-the-rescue wonder woman that she is, suggested that I use the 13x9 rectangle pan instead (thanks, mama, love you!).  Since I used a different pan, the baking time changed too.

Baking time for Taisan in a 13x9 pan is 20-25 minutes.  You can check with a cake tester after 22 minutes to see if it's done.  Like always: wet batter, still needs more time to bake.  But a few moist crumbs, it's done baking.

All that's left to be done is to spread melted butter all over the cake.  Then take some plain white sugar, and as much or as little as you fancy, sprinkle over the cake as well.  And now for this part, you can go wild or nah.  Cheese.  Get a grater and grate to your heart's content!

We enjoyed this one immensely.  All that worry I endured about separating whites from yolks was worth it.  The chiffon is sooo soft and absolutely smooth, definitely not dry unlike this other chiffon cake I overbaked (oops).

Does the cheese grated on top bother you?  Friend, is something wrong?  Cheese goes with everything.

I want to hear all about your thoughts when you make this Taisan!

Til the next post!