Whoever wrote that recipe doesn’t know what they’re doing anyway because 1) it’s written in volume; 2 the liquid is milk. The liquid in chiffon cake is water. You can use sparkling water. You can use a combination of sparkling juice and water. You can use a combination of sparkling water and non-alcoholic wine. You can use a combination of sparkling water and champagne. You can use a combination of water and coridal (my favorites are elderflower and lemon; and lemon verbena). But you will not get a good chiffon cake with milk as it it too heavy and rich which will produce a dense thick crumb--which is totally contrary to what a chiffon cake was developed to be.
The proper flour to use is cake flour, your recipe simply says flour.
Three of the most important things for chiffon cake is baking by weight, not volume; beating the egg whites properly, and folding them in.
Baking by weight is the proper way to bake regardless of what you’re baking.
learn how to beat egg whites properly. I discussed them on this thread:
Hello I have been baking basic cakes for a few years and want to start getting into decorating them (usually just spread with icing). I normally use American buttercream but not a big fan of the taste, is there anything else that I can use to cover and pipe flowers? Thanks x
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Understand the difference between the different mixing methods. Egg whites must be folded into the batter. Learn how to fold properly. Below is a copy and paste of an explanation I wrote on the different mixing methods.
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There are many ways to mix batters and doughs. The mixing method that you choose will depend on the type of baked product you will make. Many baked goods require you to use more than one type of mixing method
Beating: agitate ingredients vigorously to incorporate air or develop gluten. A mixer using attachments like just as a whisk, paddle, or dough hook attachment is used. By hand use a hand whisk or spoon.
Blending/stirring: Mixing two or more ingredients together until evenly combined. May be done by hand with a spoon, whisk, rubber spatula, or with a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Cut in: roughly cut in solid fat (chilled butter, shortening, lard, etc.) into dry ingredients leaving coarse bits of fat visible. By hand, a pastry cutter, two knives is used. Other hand techniques include rubbing fat and dry ingredients between two fingers or s a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or two knives to cut in fat. You may also rub the fat and flour between your fingers.
Folding: Gently blending an airy foam, such as whipped egg whites or whipped cream into a heavier batter to lighten it. Using a balloon whisk to keep from deflating the foam, the batter is lifted up from the bottom of the bowl with the balloon whisk and folded over the foam, then the whisk drawn gently down through the center of the batter to lift it up and fold it over again. The bowl is rotated as the foam in folded in.
Whipping: agitating ingredients vigorously to incorporate air and and trigger partial protein denaturation of ingredients like egg whites or heavy cream.
Creaming is NOT mixing
Creaming is NOT blending/stirring two or more ingredients to combine.
Creaming is NOT cutting a fat into a dry ingredient
Creaming is NOT folding a foam into a batter
Creaming is NOT whipping an ingredient to incorporate air and trigger protein denaturation
