In 2007, when this website was still in its infancy, I shared a recipe for a layered strawberry chiffon shortcake. I’d never made a chiffon cake before, but I brought it to a friend’s rooftop birthday BBQ, correctly assuming that no one would be unhappy with a towering, featherweight cake sandwiched with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, however inexpertly made.
While I could appreciate a chiffon cake back then, I wasn’t a superfan. Chiffon cakes seemed a little stiff and lean. Plus, they’re fussy: there’s sifting; cake flour instead of all-purpose flour; superfine sugar instead of regular granulated; an uneven number of egg whites and egg yolks; cream of tartar; and a minimum of three bowls just for the cake layers. Oh, and chiffon cakes have a tendency to dip in the center as they cool. Gosh, where do we sign up!?
Nineteen years later, when the cake resurfaced in the “Could Use a Refresh” queue, I knew Deb of 2026 wanted to eliminate as much of that rigidity as possible to create a chiffon cake recipe for real life — this one, even. Along the way, late to the game as ever, I fell deeply in love with chiffon cakes. [I’ve told friends I’m now in my Chiffon Cake Era and they were so sweet to wait until I turned around to roll their eyes.] But I get it now, I really do. Not only are they light as air, so glorious as a summer dessert, but the layers keep phenomenally well, as good on day six as they are the day they’re baked.
At my birthday party on Friday night, I blew out the candles on a supersized version of this and walked my mom out to her car. When I came back, only a single piece was out on the tables and the plates were untouched. I panicked. “Where is the rest? Are they still cutting it? Did you get any? Did you?” Apparently, in the minutes I was outside, the cake had been “devoured frantically directly from the serving platters” the moment they were set down, bypassing patience and plates. A friend described it as a “weightless, melt-in-your-mouth dessert.” Another friend told me to make twice as much next time, because she was unable to have thirds. I think we know what needs to be done.
Here are a few of the 2026 updates:
- All-purpose flour instead of cake flour: I found that leaving off a couple tablespoons of flour kept this cake soft and dreamy without requiring a specialty flour purchase, or side formula.
- Granulated sugar instead of superfine sugar: Works just fine here, promise.
- An even number of egg yolks and egg whites: I know this makes you as happy as it makes me.
- No cream of tartar. Do you know what cream of tartar is? It’s a natural acid (potassium bitartrate), that can strengthen the protein bonds in whipped egg whites, helping them resist deflating. Do you know what else is an acid? Lemon juice, and it also goes excellently with this cake flavor. Plus, we were already using the zest and I do love nose-to-tail ingredient usage.
- No sifting: It’s just fine without it.
- Fewer bowls: And you only need an electric mixer for the egg whites.
- Slimmer cake layers: The original cake was fun, but too tall, to the point that I photographed it without its final layer.
- Better whipped cream: Adding a little crème fraîche or sour cream to whipped cream stabilizes it.
- Less baking powder: I was a few retests in when I realized I’d accidentally been using much less baking powder than called for. Adding more didn’t improve the cake, so I’ve left it lower.
- A trick to prevent shrinkage: I learned from King Arthur that as soon as your chiffon cake layers come out of the oven, you can drop them a few times on the counter. This releases some of the trapped steam and leads to cakes that shrink less from the sides as they cool.
- A trick to reduce dipping in the center: As chiffon cakes have a tendency to dip in the center — i.e. don’t fret if yours do — I found mine dipped less and sometimes not at all if I cooled them upside-down, as you might a tube chiffon or angel food cake.
Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake, Perfected
- 5 large eggs, separated
- Finely grated zest of half a lemon
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar, divided
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 grams) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (150 ml) cold or room-temp water
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 1/3 cups (550 ml) heavy or whipping cream
- 1/4 cup (30 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) sour cream or crème fraîche
- 2 pounds (905 grams) fresh strawberries, trimmed, sliced thin
Cake Layers
Assembly
Heat oven: To 325°F (165°C).
Make the cake layers: Coat the bottom of 2 9-inch round cake pans lightly with nonstick spray and line each pan with a fitted circle of parchment. (The oil is just there to hold the parchment in place.) Do not spray the sides of the cake pan. Lightly coat two cooling racks with nonstick spray, too; you’ll use them later.
In one large bowl, whisk together yolks, lemon zest, and 1 cup of the granulated sugar. It will seem stiff and dry at first, but keep whisking (1 minute) and the batter will loosen and become a pale yellow and thick like frosting. Whisk in oil, then water and vanilla extract. Sprinkle half of flour over batter, then salt and baking powder, followed by second half of flour. Whisk to combine, until smooth. This batter will be very thick for now.
In a second large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites until thick enough to hold firm peaks. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar gradually, beating the whole time. Continue to beat egg whites until very thick and holding firm peaks; when you pull the (turned off) beaters away, the tip of the peaks will flop over slightly. Add lemon juice and beat to combine.
Add 1/4 of egg whites to yolk mixture and whisk to combine; you’re just using this to loosen the batter. Carefully fold the remaining egg whites in in two additions, doing your best to not deflate them.
Divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
As soon as you remove each layer from the oven, drop it a few times onto your counter from a few inches above. (Yes, really! This helps prevent shrinkage.) Cool cake layers completely in their pan upside down on the cooling racks you sprayed earlier. (This helps prevent the centers from dipping.)
Assemble the cake: With an electric mixer, whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Add sour cream or crème fraîche and beat until mixture is thick enough to hold shape, but creamy and not grainy.
When cake layers are completely cool, carefully flip pans back over. The top of the cakes will have stuck to their racks, but less so than if you hadn’t sprayed them. Run a knife around each cake layer, separating it from the sides of the pan, and turn out onto a rack. Using a long, serrated knife, carefully cut each cake layer into two thinner layers.
Place first cake layer on a serving platter or cake stand. Spread one slightly heaped cup of whipped cream over the layer and arrange approximately one-quarter of the sliced strawberries over the cream. Repeat this process three times. You’ll have a small amount of whipped cream left; you can transfer it to a piping bag with a star tip to decorate the top of the cake.
To serve: Serve the cake in wedges — it’s wobbly and doesn’t like to stay upright but that’s half the fun.
Do ahead: This cake keeps! You can make the cake layers even 5 to 6 days before needing them and keep them wrapped at room temperature. (I was shocked mine didn’t get stale at all.) The freezer would work for longer. The fully assembled cake keeps in the fridge for 5 to 6 days (theoretically; we’ve never had one last this long).
