This delightful Earl Grey Chiffon Cake is the perfect sweet treat for an afternoon snack. It’s light, spongy, and airy, with a lovely fragrance and calming citrus flavor from the bergamot orange oil in the tea. Tea-infused baked goods and chiffon cakes are very popular in Japan, and for good reason. Follow my simple techniques for a beautiful cake that’s surprisingly easy to make at home.
Have you tried Earl Grey flavored baked goods before? How about baking with tea leaves? If you haven’t, you must try this Earl Grey chiffon cake. Earl Grey is a tea blend with a delightful and calming citrus flavor. The citrus flavor comes from oil extracted from the rind of a bergamot orange.
As Earl Grey is my all-time favorite tea, all kinds of baked goods infused with Earl Grey tea are my top choices in bakeries. Given my love for sweets, I would even rank any Earl Grey flavored baked goods higher than chocolate. I am not kidding! From Earl Grey cookies, and Earl Grey pound cake to this Earl Grey chiffon, I can never resist any of them.
Tea-Infused Baked Goods
After living in the U.S., I realized tea-infused baked goods are not as popular compared to Japan. This actually motivated me to learn how to bake so that I can enjoy my favorite Earl Grey baked goods at home.
If you haven’t tried making a chiffon cake before, you will have to trust me when I say it’s one of the easiest cakes to bake. Not an experienced baker? Not to worry. I used to think it would be intimidating to bake chiffon cake as well, but it turned out to be less challenging than I had presumed. Once you understand the simple techniques, it will be one of your favorite cake recipes to bake at home.
Tips to Make Airy Chiffon Cake
The most crucial part to make a successful chiffon cake is to make perfect meringue and fold it into batter correctly.
Meringue
In Japan, the majority of recipes call for cold egg whites to make meringue (and we don’t use cream of tartar). If you already know how to make meringue with room-temperature egg whites and cream of tartar, please use your own method. Otherwise, you can follow my detailed instructions in the recipe.
Fold In
When you finish making meringue, make sure to fold in egg whites gently so the tiny bubbles don’t deflate. If you deflate the egg whites too much, the cake will not be fluffy.
How to Make the Perfect Chiffon Cake
- Have a question on chiffon cake making?
- Do you have a different size chiffon cake pan?
I answered your questions in this post.
Itadakimasu!
Chiffon cakes are my daughter’s favorite cake because she can help me make them and we enjoy making different types together. What I like best about chiffon cakes is they are so fluffy and bouncy, and not too sweet. The sponge-like texture is exceptionally light and airy and I feel like I can gobble up half of the cake myself.
It is also slightly healthier than other types of baked goods that use plenty of butter. This earl grey chiffon cake recipe uses just 3 Tbsp. of oil. With a faint citrus aroma, it makes the perfect cake to enjoy in an idyllic afternoon when you have some good friends over.
If you don’t like Earl Grey, try my Green Tea Chiffon Cake or Meyer Lemon Chiffon Cake.
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Earl Grey Chiffon Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Earl Grey loose tea leaves (for the tea powder)
- 1 Tbsp Earl Grey loose tea leaves (for the strong brewed tea)
- 6 Tbsp hot water (just boiled)
- 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (yolks and whites separated)
- 85 g sugar (½ cup minus 1 Tbsp; 3 oz; divided into thirds)
- 40 ml neutral oil (3 Tbsp minus 1 tsp)
- 75 g cake flour (⅔ cup minus 2 tsp; weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off; you can make Homemade Cake Flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
For Serving
- confectioners’ sugar (for dusting; optional)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Gather all the ingredients. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
- Preheat the oven to 340ºF (170ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). You will need a 17-cm (7-inch) chiffon cake pan. If you have a different size pan, read this post to adjust the ingredient measurements. Make sure you use an aluminum pan with a removable base (read my blog post for more details). Please see my Notes at the end of this recipe for additional details on ingredients, equipment, and techniques.
- To make tea powder, put 2 tsp Earl Grey loose tea leaves in a food processor (I used a Nutribullet here). Grind them to a fine powder. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle to grind the tea leaves, or put tea leaves in a bag and crush them. Transfer to a small bowl and set it aside.
- To brew strong tea, put 1 Tbsp Earl Grey loose tea leaves in a fine sieve over a bowl. Next, pour 6 Tbsp hot water over the tea leaves to steep. Let it cool, then remove the tea leaves. Measure 4 Tbsp (60 ml) of this brewed tea and set it aside.
- Separate 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) into egg yolks and whites. Keep the eggs whites in a stand mixer bowl; refrigerate or freeze the bowl and egg whites for 15 minutes until cold. (It‘s okay if the egg whites are partially frozen). Tip: In Japan, we chill the egg whites to make smooth, fine-textured meringue and do not use cream of tartar.
To Mix the Batter
- Start mixing the batter. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and one-third of the 85 g sugar with a hand whisk. Whisk vigorously until it‘s a creamy pale yellow color.
- Add 40 ml neutral oil and 4 Tbsp brewed tea to the egg mixture. Whisk all together until combined.
- Add the powdered Earl Grey tea to the egg mixture and mix well.
- To a flour sifter or fine-mesh sieve, add 75 g cake flour and 1 tsp baking powder. Sift one-third of this flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk by hand to incorporate the dry ingredients well. Check that there are no lumps in the batter, then sift another one-third of the flour mixture into the bowl. Mix to incorporate. Then, sift in the rest of the flour mixture and whisk until just combined; do not overmix. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter. Set aside while you beat the meringue.
To Make the Meringue
- Take out the bowl of egg whites from the refrigerator or freezer. Set the bowl on the stand mixer with a whisk attachment (I used the KitchenAid Professional Series). Start whipping the egg whites on medium-low speed (Speed 4) until the egg whites are bubbly, opaque, and foamy.Add another one-third of the sugar and continue whisking for 30 seconds. Then, increase the mixer speed to high (Speed 10) and gradually add the remaining sugar in small increments. Beat vigorously until stiff peaks form. It takes about 2 minutes of beating at high speed to reach stiff peaks. Tip: I usually pause beating when the egg whites are almost done. Take off the whisk attachment from the mixer and use it to hand-mix the looser egg whites near the bowl‘s edge into the stiffer whites near the center until it‘s all homogenous in texture. Then, put the whisk back on and continue beating.To check for stiff peaks, pull up your whisk. The meringue in the bowl or on the whisk should be firm enough to hold a peak, pointing straight up (or maybe folding over a little bit just at the very tips). By this time, the meringue should have a glossy texture, too. Tip: If you overbeat the meringue, it will become very stiff and grainy and won‘t incorporate into the batter at all.
To Fold In the Meringue
- Using a spatula or hand whisk, add one-third of the meringue into the batter. Mix well by hand until it‘s homogeneous.
- Gently fold in the rest of the meringue in 2 or 3 increments. Take care not to deflate the air bubbles in the meringue and batter as you fold. Once it‘s well combined and homogenous, fold the batter one last time and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there is no tea powder accumulation. The final batter should fall in ribbons when you lift the spatula or whisk.
To Bake
- Prepare an ungreased 17-cm (7-inch) chiffon cake pan. From 6–8 inches high, pour the batter into the pan at just one spot to prevent air pockets from forming. While holding the removable base in place, gently tap the pan a few times on the work surface to release any air pockets in the batter. Run a wooden skewer through the batter to release any remaining air pockets.
- Put the cake pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake at 340ºF (170ºC) for 30 minutes. To check if it‘s finished baking, insert a toothpick or wooden skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed, it‘s done. Tip: If the top of the cake gets dark too quickly, cover the top loosely with aluminum foil to prevent burning. (The cake may be too close to the heat source.)
- Remove the cake pan from the oven and gently drop the pan onto the work surface to shock the cake. This stops the cake from shrinking. To cool the cake, prepare a tall, heavy bottle with a long neck, such as a glass wine bottle. Invert the center tube of the cake pan onto the bottle‘s neck and let the cake cool completely in its pan. Cooling the cake upside down helps it stretch downward and maintain its loft.Once the cake is completely cool, run a long offset spatula around the outer edge of the pan and a small offset spatula around the inner tube. Gently take out the removable base and cake from the outer pan. Then, run the offset spatula along the bottom of the cake to release it from the base. Tip: I used to use a knife for this step, but the tip of the knife tends to poke the cake while moving around, so I now recommend using offset spatulas.
To Serve
- Invert the cake with the removable base onto a plate or cake stand. The cake will slide off the inner tube. Chiffon cake is served “upside down” with the flat bottom on top. Dust confectioners’ sugar on top, if you‘d like. Slice and enjoy.
To Store
- I strongly recommend consuming the cake sooner for the best freshness. However, you can keep the cake covered on a plate or stand at room temperature in a cooler place for 1–2 days. To keep it longer, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap or put in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 2 weeks.
Notes
- Make sure your beaters and mixing bowl are clean and dry. A speck of oil or egg yolk on either one can minimize the volume of the beaten egg whites.
- Avoid plastic bowls, as even clean ones may hold oily residue that can affect the beaten quality of the egg whites.
- Use a bowl that’s wide enough to keep the beaters from being buried in the egg whites.
- Do not overbeat or underbeat the egg whites or your cake may fall. Egg whites should have a stiff peak, pointing straight up (or maybe a little bit folding over just at the very tips).
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on June 7, 2015. The blog content has been updated with more information.
Hi Nami,
My very first chiffon cake is currently in the oven and it has risen beautifully exactly like yours! I love the detail of your instructions~ baking is a science after all!
I note you very helpfully include the metric and imperial measures in your recipe. When you are baking this yourself, do you prefer to use grams and ml to weigh out all ingredients, or do you use tbsp/tsp and cups?
Many thanks!
Hi Lexie! I use metric (grams) for my baking (unless I follow American recipes). For savory… when the amount is small, I use tablespoons. For example, instead of 60 ml soy sauce, I write 4 Tbsp in my notebook, and then when I write the recipe for the blog, I also write 60 ml. Hope this helps.
I hope your cake will turn out well at the end! Enjoy! 🙂 xo
Thank you Nami! I was considering whether I really need a more accurate set of digital scales and ml measuring jug. My cake turned out just perfectly~ even using the tblsp and cup measurements (I also made the cake flour substitution w cornflour)~ so thank you again for the wonderfully accurate recipe! (ps I think your comments email address is not working properly ~posting directly on the page instead)
Hi Lexie! I believe in precise measurement so there will be no mistake or guessing. 🙂 I’m glad your cake came out well!
P.S. Yes, my response will go to the comment under your comment (as well as sending you via email). Is that what you’re talking about?
Can I ask is it 107C or 170C? The top of my cake cracked and I’m not sure if it’s the temperature
Hi Eliza! Could you let me know where you saw 107 ºC? It was a typo in the video, but since then, we re-published the video with the correct oven temperature (170 ºC) already… so as far as we know, you should not see 107 ºC.
Here at the blog. (The video does say 107C but I didnt watch the video until my cake went into the oven..)
Never mind it was me confusing myself. It does say 170C. I’m so sorry!!
Hi Eliza! No problem at all! We know this issue as soon as we published the video on YouTube, and people told us we had a typo. I was wondering how you got 107 ºC because we took down the old video and I thought there was a stolen video out there. 🙂
Hi Nami-san! Can we use a bundt cake pan? Thank you!
Hi Yui! I do not recommend. Some of my readers have made this recipe in a bundt cake pan, but I don’t know if it was the optimal result or not (since I didn’t get to taste). A bundt cake pan is typically non-stick, and making chiffon cake in a non-stick pan is a big no no… So I would not recommend making chiffon cakes in a bundt cake pan.
Hello! Can I use a regular cake tin instead of a tube pan? I’d like to make an Earl grey cake that I can frost 🙂 Thank you 🙂
Hi Alex! I highly recommend using a tubed pan for a chiffon cake for the best result. There are reasons why we need the tube in the pan. 🙂
Hi this looks so amazing ! I’m a newbie baker, is it possible to make without a electric mixer and just using my hands?
Hi Sherril! Thank you for your kind words. 🙂 Yes, you can. But since you’re a beginner baker, I will also mention that whipping egg whites with hand whisk can take a long time. I also started without an electric hand mixer or stand mixer and had experience whipping egg whites with hands… My arms (I switch hands) almost fell off! So that’s one thing you may need to remember. After you tried a few times, you will want to get an electric hand mixer and it will be easier. 😀
[…] With these pans, you can make my Meyer Lemon Chiffon Cake, Green Tea Chiffon Cake, Orange Chiffon Cake, and Earl Grey Chiffon Cake. […]
How can I strengthen the earl grey flavour in the cake? Do I use more tea leaves, or use more tea leaves to infuse the water only? Grateful for your thoughts. Thanks!
Hi Michelle! I’d suggest making a stronger tea (use more tea leaves). Don’t change the amount of liquid in the recipe. 🙂 Hope this helps!
Hi Nami,
How much earl grey tea should i use for a 21cm pan recipe?
Hi Victoria! I suggested the following to a reader who asked the amount for 22 cm pan.
1 Tbsp Earl Grey loose tea leaves (5 g) (For step 2)
1 Tbsp and ½ tsp Earl Grey loose tea leaves (6 g) (For step 3)
You can slightly less than that amount? And adjust based on this next time? I haven’t made this recipe with 21 or 22 cm, so I can only guess. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thanks! My cake cracked on the top. I baked 170degree for 35mins. Any tips?
Hi Victoria! Possible that your ACTUAL oven temperature is too high? Having an oven thermometer helps to find that out. Also, maybe the cake was too close to the heating element?
Hi Nami, Thanks so much for your blog and YouTube channel. (I made sure to use your link to buy the angel food cake pan.) I just baked this for 30 min and it is cooling now. It looks so delicious, but the top of mine cracked, too. I had an oven thermometer in the oven for the whole time and I was careful to not let it get much above 340 even when the heat was cycling on (maybe got to 348 once for a minute or two). I had the cake pan on the center rack with bottom heating and no convection. Any other ideas?
Hi Mike! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are sorry to hear your Chiffon cake top got cracked. We think that even the internal thermometer shows the correct temperature, your oven might have a hot spot.
When you see the cake starting to crack next time, try placing the foil over the top of the Chiffon cake.
We hope this solves the problem. Happy Baking!
This may sound like an odd question, but here goes. I’ve found Japanese potato starch, which I first tried using to coat chicken for kara-age, can be substituted in a lot of recipes that call for cornstarch. My sister is allergic to corn/maize and I cook for the family a lot so I was happy to find an alternative. Do you think potato starch would work in place of cornstarch in your home-made cake flour? This recipe looks lovely and I don’t want to waste a batch using potato starch if it’s unsuitable. I’m in New Zealand where there is no such thing as cake flour.
Hi Sarah! I apologize for my late response (as I travel in Japan). I believe you can substitute with potato starch or arrowroot powder, although I had never used it before. Hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Thanks!
[…] Earl Grey […]
Hi, I’m going to make one. But is it okay for me not to add any flavor (earl grey)? Because I want to make the original chiffon. Or do I need to add other ingredients?
Hi Ronny! You can use vanilla essence to make it the original version. Please use 6 Tbsp milk or water for this recipe. 🙂
This cake is so good, I’m making it for my husband’s birthday tonight! I’ve been making it for over a year now, and every time I do, my whole family gets excited.
Thank you so much Nami, your recipes are wonderful. 🙂
Hi Rose! I’m so glad to hear that you and your family enjoyed this cake! Thanks for your kind feedback. And happy birthday to your husband! 🙂
Is there a replacement I can use for cake flour?
Hi Jocelyn! Homemade cake flour instruction is on the Note section in the recipe or you can click “cake flour” in the ingredient and the cake flour page has a homemade cake flour recipe.
Hi! I have watched your youtube video about this earl grey chiffon cake and tried 3 times to make this cake. But fails on all attemp. I wonder why my cake have this hollow at the bottom of the cake. And also it sinks. Im using regular 15cm aluminium pan to bake this cake. And have it baked at 170°c. At first attemp i bake it at 22cm pan and it baked perfectly but is kinda low since the pan is too big. On second attemp i didnt measure correctly and have put lesser flour so it fails because it have too much water and lack of flour. Making it kinda like egg pudding texture with a big hole at the bottom. I am pretty sure it was because of the water. However on third attemp i measure everything correctly but as i tried your recipe from a translated page. It have many errors (first it said to soak 2 TBSP of tea leaves. Second it said 1 TSP of tea leaves to blend in the cake mixture. Third, it didn’t say to use ONLY 60ml of the tea).
Is that the reason why my cake have a big hollow at the bottom of the cake? And also is it because i used regular 15cm pan and 7cm in height without hole in the middle?
It shrinks and the middle is still wet. ( i also decrease the heat to 100°c at last 15 mins because im scared it will burnt the cake. Stupid me)
I also attatch a photo of my cake with hollowed bottom for refference.
Hi Shely! Before I answer your questions, I want to mention that this recipe really works great (it’s not my recipe as I stated in the Notes). I’ve received very positive feedback on this recipe (as well as my other chiffon cake recipes – the base recipe is same) as you can see comments from my readers on all these chiffon cake recipes.
Now, I’ll answer your questions.
1) 15 cm is okay, and yes 22 cm would be way too big for this recipe. I have measurements for different chiffon cake pans here, including 22 cm: https://www.justonecookbook.com/perfect-chiffon-cake/
2) For chiffon cake recipes, I recommend measuring ingredients with a kitchen scale. 1 cup cake flour can vary in weight if you don’t properly fill up 1 cup.
3) I’m not sure what it means by “a translated page”? Was it my recipe because the measurement mentioned there is all wrong.
4) a big hollow in the cake is caused by the following.
– NEVER use a round cake pan and you have to make a chiffon cake using a chiffon cake pan. The cake batter needs to climb up and you need to make it upside down after baking. Also the center will not be cooked through without a hole in the middle. I can see why the center of your cake is wet. When it’s wet (undercook), there is no support for your cake structure.
– Please do not change the oven temperature. If your oven is small and you are concerned about burning, then you can insert a sheet of aluminum foil to cover the top.
– and please read this post for troubleshooting: https://www.justonecookbook.com/perfect-chiffon-cake/
Hope that helps!
Hi there Nami, thanks for the reply.
I will try using chiffon pan next time.
Yes, your recipe is fine 🙂
What i mean is that i used to follow other people recipe turns out to be translated to my native language from your recipe with twisted measurements (probably due to bad translation)
Yes i do use kitchen scale but couldn’t help it if im using a wrong recipe.
I will try again when i have the time. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Shely! Good luck! Please let me know how it goes. I’m sending positive energy your way! xoxo
Hi I really want to try make this but I only have a 21cm/8inch tin. Can you advise how to tweak the measurements please for the ingredients to fit an 8 inch tin? Thank you!
Hi Ri! I have the measurement here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/perfect-chiffon-cake/
Hi Nami, this looks delicious! Thank you so much for providing info and help on making chiffon cakes; I’ve been reading reading your guide and am going to try to make a chiffon cake soon! I was wondering, could this recipe be modified to be black sesame flavored using a paste or powder? Thanks so much again!
Hi Christina! Yes, you can modify this recipe to make black sesame chiffon cake. It’s on my list of recipes to make but I haven’t had a chance yet. Watch out for the oil content as sesame paste is quite oily so you need to adjust the amount of oil too. 🙂
[…] Earl Grey […]