Strawberry chiffon cake

Ingredients

• 400g strawberries, hulled
• Grated zest and juice 2 lemons
• 220g plain flour
• 80g cornflour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 7 medium free-range eggs, separated (fridge cold)
• 200g caster sugar
• 80ml vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• A few drops red food colour (optional)
• 300-350g icing sugar
• 50g soured cream
• Grated zest 1 lime

Specialist kit

• 23cm cake tin (round or angel cake tin)

Method

1. Make a strawberry purée by blending 200g strawberries with a squeeze of lemon juice until liquid. Pass the mixture through a fine strainer to remove any pips.
2. Heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt.
3.  another bowl, beat the egg yolks with an electric hand whisk and ⅓ of the sugar until they are thick, pale and hold a ribbon trail for 3 seconds. Stir in 1 tbsp lemon or lime zest, the juice of 1 lemon (about 40ml) and 140ml of the strawberry purée. You can also add a drop of red food colour and/or vanilla extract at this point if you have it. Beat in the oil until incorporated.

1. In another large bowl, whisk the egg whites in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until very white and foamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar one spoon at a time, beating until it reaches stiff peaks (when you lift out the beaters the tips of the peaks formed don’t flop over).
2. Use a spatula or metal spoon to gently mix the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture a little at a time until just combined. Gently fold in spoonfuls of the egg whites, ensuring they’re as fully incorporated as you can. The mix will be voluminous and look like a big fluffy pink milkshake.
3. Scrape the cake mixture into the ungreased cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Test by lightly pushing with the pad of your finger and to see if it feels a little bouncy. Invert the cake tin to cool upside down on your worktop. (An angel tin comes in handy here, as it has its own little feet, but if not, prop your upside-down tin on top of few cans of food to keep it upright.)