Farewell Passion Blog

Hello everyone and happy spring!

Welcome to the final baking blog post of the semester. With warmer temperatures on the way and brightly colored flowers blooming in the garden, I felt inspired to make a cake packed with bright flavors. I am tackling possibly the most complex bake of the semester by making a lemon mascarpone chiffon cake. 

We need to start by answering two important questions. What is mascarpone? What is a chiffon cake? First, mascarpone is an Italian cheese in between goat’s cheese and cream cheese. It has a slight tang which works great in the whipped cream topping for the cake. The mascarpone will bring richness to the cake that contrasts with the light cake and sweet lemon curd. 

Next, what is a chiffon cake? I must admit that I did not know what a chiffon cake was before making this cake. Chiffon by a traditional definition is actually a fabric known for being light and airy. This cake is very similar. A chiffon cake combines the tenderness of an oil cake and the softness of a sponge cake. It is, in the words of Hannah Montana, the “best of both worlds.” Chiffon cakes are also ideal for soft fillings like the mascarpone cream in this recipe. 

While this cake is complex, it is truly not difficult to put together. I start with the lemon curd which needs to be heated on the stove, put through a sieve, and cooled in the refrigerator. The flavor of lemon, lemonade, lemon pie, lemon pudding, lemon cake are my favorites so I added extra lemon juice to my curd. 

Step two was to make the cakes. The difficult part of baking this cake is the constant washing of my mixer that I needed to do. After mixing most of the ingredients, the mixer needed to be emptied and washed to whip the egg whites. Folding whipped egg whites into an oil batter gives the cake the light and fluffy texture. 

Step three was to make the mascarpone cream. Essentially, the topping is a traditional whipped cream with mascarpone added for richness and tanginess. A traditional homemade whipped cream requires heavy whipping cream and confectioners sugar be combined in a mixer at high speed for a few minutes. A family secret/baking tip I learned a few years ago from my Aunt Meghan, an excellent baker, is to refrigerate the mixing bowl prior to making the whipped cream. After a few holidays of making homemade whipped cream, I can say that this trick works. 

Once all the elements have been prepared and sufficiently cooled, the cake is ready to be assembled. There is little to no precision required in this process. I spread the mascarpone in between and on top of the cake layers. I finished the cake by plopping the lemon curd on top. 

This lemon mascarpone chiffon cake is a perfect bake for spring. All of the flavors work well together to produce a vibrant, delicious cake that I am sure will not last long in my kitchen. 

Thank you all for tuning into my blog this semester. Your kind comments are deeply appreciated. A special thank you to Lindsay and Julia for assisting me in selecting a recipe for today’s blog. 

https://stylesweet.com/blog/2020/3/14/lemon-chiffon-cake-with-mascarpone-cream