Earl Grey chiffon cake

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Heat 100 g whole milk over low heat until it steams and bubbles gently around the edge of the pan, then turn off the heat, add 6 g Earl Grey tea leaves, cover and steep for about 10 minutes before straining out the leaves, pressing them lightly. Warm milk draws out the bergamot oil better than water, giving a rounder, creamier tea flavor. The tea milk is ready when it's light brown like milk tea and has cooled until just warm to the touch.

   Suggested time: about 10 minutes. Low heat.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Heat the oven to 160°C for at least fifteen minutes with a rack in the lower middle, and have a clean, dry 20 cm tube pan ready, left ungreased. The bare sides give the batter something to cling to as it climbs while rising. The oven is ready when the temperature inside has stabilized and the heating light turns off.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   Whisk 90 g egg yolks with 20 g granulated sugar and a pinch salt, then add 45 g vegetable oil and all of the strained tea milk and stir until combined. Emulsifying the oil with the yolks keeps the cake soft and moist even when chilled. The mixture is ready when it's pale yellow and smooth with no slick of oil separating out.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   Grind 2 g Earl Grey tea leaves very finely with a mortar or spice grinder, sift 90 g cake flour and 2 g baking powder into the yolk mixture, add the ground tea and stir gently in a zigzag motion. The finer the tea, the more evenly the flecks spread and the less they puncture the air bubbles. The batter is ready when it's silky smooth, speckled with brown tea and falls in ribbons when you lift the whisk.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   Beat 170 g egg whites with 1 g cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy with fine bubbles, then add 65 g superfine sugar in three additions and increase the speed. Cream of tartar stabilizes the meringue so it holds up when folded into the heavier tea batter. The meringue is ready when it's glossy and smooth and forms an upright peak with a slightly drooping tip when you lift the beater.

   Suggested time: about 6 minutes.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Mix about a third of the meringue into the yolk batter to lighten it, then pour it all back into the meringue bowl and fold with a spatula, turning the bowl with each stroke. Folding in a circular motion brings the batter together quickly without popping the air bubbles. The batter is ready when no white streaks remain, it looks billowy and it falls in folds that slowly melt away.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Pour the batter into the tube pan, swirl a skewer through it a few times to break up air pockets, tap the pan lightly and bake at 160°C for 40 to 45 minutes. A moderately low temperature lets the cake rise tall and even without deep cracks on top. It's done when the top is golden brown, springs back when lightly pressed and a bamboo skewer inserted near the tube comes out clean.

   Bake at 160°C for about 40 to 45 minutes.

   Mark step 7 as done

8. Step 8

   As soon as it comes out of the oven, drop the pan onto the counter from a height of about ten centimeters, then turn it upside down over the neck of a bottle and let it cool for about an hour and a half. Cooling upside down keeps the airy structure stretched while the cake sets. It's ready when the pan is completely cool and the cake no longer feels warm.

   Suggested time: about 90 minutes.

   Mark step 8 as done

9. Step 9

   Turn the pan right side up, run a thin-bladed knife around the outer edge and the center tube, lift out the base and cut along the bottom to free the cake, then dust the top with a little powdered sugar. Keeping the knife pressed against the pan keeps the brown crust intact. The cake is perfect when it stands straight with smooth sides and a soft, fine crumb flecked with tea.

   Mark step 9 as done