Cheesecake like Mango Yogurt Chiffon Cake

"Mum, is this a cheesecake?" asked my confused and satisfied son after enjoying a slice of this cake. "You said that it is a chiffon cake but it tastes a little like a cheesecake."

My son is right... Although this mango yogurt chiffon cake is light and spongy and contains NO cream cheese cake at all, it has a cheesecake-like tangy milky taste!

To clarify, I told my son proudly that this large 20 cm cheesecake-like chiffon cake is actually very different from most cheesecakes as it contains only three tablespoon of oil and so it is pretty low in its fat content. Yet, every mouthful of it is so moist, milky and "creamy"!

Cheesecake-like mango yogurt chiffon cake (with NO cream cheese in it!)

This step helps to prevent the mangoes from sinking to the bottom of the light and airy cake.

As usual, this chiffon cake recipe requires separation of egg yolks from the whites.
Yay that I have my Tovolo yolk out to do this job.
Click this if you want to know how this super cool Tovolo yolk out works!

Beat egg whites and lemon juice until foamy first.

While beating, add sugar gradually and beat until stiff peaks form.

While beating the egg whites, this is what I did to the yolks.

When the egg white mixture is ready, I combined them together.

Another useful step to ensure that dried mangoes are well distributed.

It smells so good!

Happy to see that the mangoes are nicely distributed throughout every slice of the cake :)

Happy too that it is light, airy and spongy like chiffon cake... but smooth and milky like cheesecake!

Here's the recipe that is largely modified from Cookpad

Makes one 20 cm chiffon cake

A
100g dried mangoes, finely minced (or any dried fruits like cranberries)
adequate cake flour to coat

B (egg yolk mixture)
115g egg yolks (about 6 extra large but please use exact weight)
45ml (3 tbsp) vegetable oil
40g caster sugar*
150g plain yogurt
120g cake flour
1/4 tsp salt

C (egg white mixture)
240g egg whites (about 6 extra large but please use exact weight)
1 tsp lemon juice
60g caster sugar*

*please do not reduce this amount as the sweetness is just right.

Preheat oven to 170°C or 330ºF or 150°C fan forced.

For A:
Coat dried mango in adequate cake flour. Sift to remove any excess un-coated flour. Set aside.

For B:
Using a hand whisk, whisk egg yolks and sugar until combined. Continue to whisk and add oil gradually while whisking and whisk until the mixture turns pale and slightly thickened.

Add yogurt and whisk until the mixture is combined. Sift in cake flour and salt and whisk again until mixture is well combined. Set aside.

For C:
Using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg whites and lemon juice in medium low mixing speed until foamy. Increase mixing speed to medium high. While beating, add sugar gradually in about 3 batches into the mixture and beat until stiff peaks form.

Combine B and C:
Fold in egg white mixture (C) into the egg yolk mixture (B) gradually and very gently with at least 3-4 batches of mixture C.

To prevent the dried mangoes from sinking to the bottom of the pan, pour a small portion of batter into an un-greased chiffon cake pan that is adequate enough to fill the base of the pan.

Stir in the flour-coated dried mangoes into the remaining batter gently and pour all batter into the pan. Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any large air bubbles in the batter.

Bake in a preheated 170ºC for 20 mins. Reduce to 160ºC during the process, and bake for an additional 35 mins or until the cake is firm enough to touch. If the top of the cake is browning too quickly, cover with a foil loosely at the last 20 mins of baking. 

After baking, drop the cake from a 20-30 cm height immediately onto your tabletop to minimise shrinkage. Then invert the cake immediately and allow it to cool completely before removing it from the pan.

To unmould the cake from the pan, use a thin rubber knife or spatula to run around the cake. Transfer cake onto a serving plate. Slice and serve.

Happy Baking
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