Vanilla Chiffon Mango Charlotte

It's a joy to be able to do something you enjoy doing than being forced to do it. So while I find it a joy to bake, I also find it a joy to share my bake and to see people enjoying my food. Although my recent bakes have been (mostly) driven by the themes of the ongoing baking events, they were actually part of my to-bake list too. And I'm so glad to finally execute some of them (with the "force" from the interesting baking themes). So to level up the challenge (I posed to myself), I have been cracking my brain on how to put a bake idea (that fits the baking theme) into a real bake product. With so many birthdays coming up, the idea of a Mango Charlotte (cake) automatically came to my mind. I was first introduced to a Mango Charlotte (cake) when my sister was tasked to buy a birthday cake for the family, and we had charlotte cakes on so many occasions that I can't remember who in the family was the first to have a charlotte cake on birthday. So I started by searching what exactly made up the "wall" around the cake. Haha! That was pretty much how my previous post on Homemade Ladyfingers came about. too. ^_^ To fit the current Bake-Along's theme event on chiffon cake, I have decided to make a vanilla chiffon for the cake layer.

Ta-da! Here's a debut of my Vanilla Chiffon Mango Charlotte, and what a long name! Honestly, it took me a long while to decide the name for this cake. *Grin!

Vanilla Chiffon Mango Charlotte

And I am so pleased with the looks of the cake and extremely satisfied with the taste combination. *_* Looking at this cake feels like a dream come true! It looks just like how I'd imagined. ^_^ I guess I will be using chiffon cake as the cake layer (more than regular sponge cake) in future when making whole cakes! Yeah~

Vanilla Chiffon Mango Charlotte

The Dream Baker's Creation

Ingredients Required

Vanilla chiffon cake

Recipe referenced and modified from: Vivian Pang Kitchen

Group A
5 egg yolks
30 grams castor sugar
60 grams vegetable oil
90 ml milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
120 grams cake flour

Group B
6 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
60 grams castor sugar

Cream frosting

Recipe referenced and modified from: Ochikeron adapted in TDB's Strawberry Shortcake

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnishing

Homemade ladyfingers (or store-bought)
Ribbon (approximately 40-inch length)

Frozen or fresh mangoes, sliced or cubed (thawed if using frozen)
Blueberries, or any fruits of your choice

Gelatin glaze (1 teaspoon of gelatin powder, 1 tablespoon cold water, 1/4 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice)

Bakeware Used

Two 9-inch round cake pans (better with removable base), or one 22-cm chiffon tube pan if just making regular vanilla chiffon cake

Preparation Steps

Vanilla chiffon cake

1. Preheat oven to 320 degrees F.
2. Add the vanilla extract to the milk and set aside.
3. Whisk egg yolks and sugar from Group A using a balloon whisk until the sugar dissolves.
4. Add oil and vanilla infused milk into the yolk mixture. Stir well.
5. Fold in sifted flour and mix till batter becomes smooth.
6. In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue whisking until foamy.
7. Add sugar gradually and beat until meringue reaches firm peaks form.
8. Fold in 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk mixture till well incorporated.
9. Pour the mixed batter into the remaining egg whites bowl. Fold gently till well combined.
10. Pour the batter evenly into each 9-inch round pan and gently drop the pan on the table top to release any large air bubbles.
11. Place the pans on the lower rack of the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Do not open the oven door until after 30 minutes into baking.
12. Once baked, remove from the oven and run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake. Invert cake over a wire rack to cool completely and peel off parchment paper on the bottom of the cake.

Cream frosting

1. In a large bowl, combine whipping cream with sugar and vanilla extract and mix well.
2. Place the bowl over a cold water bath and whisk the cream to soft peak form.
3. If not using the cream frosting immediately, cover with cling wrap and keep it refrigerated until ready to use.

Gelatin glaze

1. In a small microwaveable bowl, sprinkle gelatin powder over the cold water and let stand for one minute.
2. Microwave the mixture at high for approximately 30 seconds.
3. Add sugar and lemon juice to taste.
4. Let cool slightly before brushing over the fruits.

Assembling the cake

1. Place a round cake layer on the cake board and coat the top of the cake with cream frosting.
2. Lay mangoes on top of the frosting just enough to cover the surface of the cake.
3. Place the other cake layer over the mangoes and coat the top and sides of the cake with the remaining cream frosting as desired.
4. Cover the sides of the cake with upright ladyfingers.
5. Lay the remaining mangoes on the inner top of the cake and place blueberries in between the mangoes.  
6. Brush the fruits with gelatin glaze and set the cake in the fridge for at least an hour.
7. Tie a pretty ribbon around the cake just before serving.

You can use a cake ring to help keep the ladyfingers upright while assembling the cake. Otherwise, tie a ribbon around the cake once the ladyfingers have been set in place to help hold up the ladyfingers. But be gentle because the ladyfingers are delicate just as its name suggests. *Grin!

The advantage of home-bake is that you can stuff and load the cake with as much fruits (of your choice) compared to store-bought ones! *_*

The only pity is I didn't think of using mango mousse or mango buttercream for the frosting. @_@

Well, there's always room for improvement! ^_^

The Dream Baker's Experiment

1. I used large eggs weighing approximately 59 grams each (with shell on).
2. The original source recipe of the vanilla chiffon cake suggests using seeds from 1 vanilla pod and cooking it in the milk or 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in substitution. I used the latter in my recipe.
3. The original source recipe bakes in a 22-cm chiffon tube pan at 160 degrees C for 45 minutes while I used two 9-inch regular round cake pans lined with parchment paper on the bottom. However, I learned that it is better to use a round pan with removable base when baking chiffon cake in a regular pan as the parchment paper hinders the rise of the cake and creates a hollow space at the bottom of the cake when the cake rises during the baking process. I'd to trim the sides of the cake to achieve a flat cake layer. Overall, it did not affect the soft texture of the cake. *Phew~
4. I added cream of tartar to the beaten egg whites in substitution of the 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 teaspoon vinegar as suggested by the original source recipe in the Group B ingredients, which serves the same purpose.
5. There are various methods of cooling the chiffon cake when baked in a regular pan shared by different bakers online. So for one pan, I inverted it immediately (with the cake inside the pan) and allowed it to cool at an elevated level before attempting to remove the cake from the pan after the pan has been cooled completely. For the other pan, I un-mould the cake immediately after removing it from the oven and inverted the cake over a wire rack to cool completely without the pan. While both methods seem to have no impact on the texture of the cake, I suggest the latter in my recipe since it was easier than keeping the hot pan inverted at an elevated level (I used the edge of three glasses to hold my inverted pan).
6. I used frozen mango chunks out of convenience but I'd strongly recommend using fresh ones! In case you're just as lazy (in skinning the mangoes) as me, thaw the frozen mangoes in the fridge (non-freezer compartment) one night before assembling the cake. Place the mangoes in a sieve over a bowl to drain off any excess liquid. But seriously, you can garnish your cake with any favourite fruits of your choice! *_*

I am so in love with this cake! This is definitely a keeper! ^_^

I am sharing this post with Bake-Along #64: Theme - Chiffon Cake jointly organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce of Kitchen Flavours and Lena of Frozen Wings.

And I am also sharing this post with CookBlogShare event hosted by Lucy of Supergolden Bakes. Caring is sharing!

Dare to dream.

The Dream Baker