Richard Hollenbeck wrote:
> Excellent feedback. Thanks a bunch!

Your welcome!

> I really don't know where to start, but I'll just jump in with a few
> comments. The cake did have a few holes, but not large ciabatta-like holes,
> maybe because I used A/P flour; I didn't have any cake flour. I was careful
> to not overmix the batter so I wouldn't create too much gluten and
> toughen-up the cake.

You're spot on in your reasoning..

> Wow! Jalapeño-Lime Chiffon Cake! What a concept! Would it work?
> Substitute the lemon amounts with half jalapeño and half lime? Hmmm....
> Craziness approaching 2:00 am on the west coast USA. I suppose a shot of
> tequila would do something to the cake too. No, that would probably ruin
> it. Maybe I'll just take the shot of tequila directly into my stomach
> first, then attempt this. Please advise.

Theoritically it would....
Pouring some liqueur when the cake has cooled down can add a variance
in taste...

> Yeah, I'll keep the fat on the lower end, closer to 25%-30%.


> The cake DID climb--up and over the top; I thought It was acting like a
> soufflé. I thought I was going to have to saw off the bottom so the cake
> would stand straight and level after I took it out of the form, but after it
> cooled that turned out okay.
>
My recipe calls for mixing the
> flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, etc., then, in this order, add the oil,
> egg yolks, water, lemon zest and vanilla, then beat until smooth. Are you
> suggesting that I emulsify the oil, egg yolks, and water first then add it
> to the dry ingredients? I was also thinking about adding the zest to the
> sugar early and then mixing it in with the dry ingredients before adding the
> liquid. That way the flavor of the lemon zest would be completely
> distributed. So my instructions are a little off? T

Nope everything is fine...you can do either way in adding the lemon
zest and some lemon juice or lime..whichever you like...

>this is not a very
> complicated recipe, but it isn't written in standard "baker's percentages"
> as I would have liked. I want to totally rewrite this and use ounces and/or
> grams instead of cups and then calculate the percentages. This time I'll
> use the lessons learned through my conversations with you to adjust the
> prodecure while I'm at it. I'll eagerly await your reply. Thank you.
>
> By the time I'm done will it still be called chiffon? Or will it be
> something original?
>
Well the cake is still basically based on chiffon batter...therefore
the outcome will be likely similar. but you better chopped the pepper
in the food processor and blend it well with the batter so that it will
be evenly distributed.
>