Chiffon Cake and Goodbyes

Saying goodbye is a funny thing. My goodbyes at the end of this school year were mostly to people I knew I would see again. Some people I would see in 3 weeks, and most people I would see at the end of the summer. So of course I felt ridiculous being sad about leaving. Some people I already miss more than others and some people I'm sure have forgotten that they promised to call. That is the wonderful and sad thing about this change. No matter how much you miss someone or don't miss them- life goes on. The sun keeps setting, clocks keep ticking and the world adjusts to a new rhythm. With each new season things change, but thankfully some things stay the same. Like lemons, they will always be wonderful. So of course my first chiffon cake would be a lemon chiffon. I made this cake to avoid studying for finals and to bring to our goodbye work party. I dedicate this cake to all those wonderful people in the CCC. And I want to thank my roommate for letting me wake her up after she had gone to bed so she could taste it for me.
Lemon Chiffon Cake (adapted from every Chiffon Cake Recipe I could find)

*I doubled this recipe and it made ridiculous amounts of lemon chiffon cake. I made 12 cupcakes, 1 8 in round cake and an entire bundt cake with it. All of them delicious, just a lot. 
2 cups flour 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup cold water 

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

Zest from 2 lemons 

7 egg yolks 

7 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 

Glaze: 

1/3 cup soft butter 

2 cups powdered sugar

Zest from 1 lemon 

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl and stir to mix. Add in order: the cold water, the oil, vanilla, lemon zest, and, one by one, the egg yolks. Set batter aside. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar and beat until very stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the batter and pour batter into a pan. If making cupcakes pour into paper liners and bake for about 20- 30 min. Watch until they are golden on top. Turn upside down on cooling rack. If making a round or budnt cake pour into ungreased or parchment paper lined (very important) pan and bake 40 minutes. For bundt cake, hang upside down over a bottle until cake is cool. Turn out. Top with glaze and if feeling colorful add strawberry puree. 

For glaze, mix soft butter with powdered sugar, zest and lemon juice. Spread over cooled cake.

Wake up your roommate at 11pm to taste some. 

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