A Holiday Cake for Anytime

DEAR SOS: I had a recipe for a wonderful Wesson Oil chiffon cake that I cut out of Ladies’ Home Journal in 1950. Somehow I lost this treasure. Thank you for any help you can give.

ELSIE PENZIN

Santa Monica

DEAR ELSIE: Chiffon cakes are light and feathery, and use oil instead of butter or shortening for their delicate texture. This is the only chiffon cake I could find that specifically calls for Wesson Oil (though you can use any vegetable oil). It comes from a Web site, holidaycooking.hypermart.net and is considered a Christmas recipe--but good anytime. The frosting is from “The Doubleday Cookbook,” (Doubleday, 1990).

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White Christmas Chiffon Cake

Active Work Time: 25 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

CAKE

2 cups sifted flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Wesson oil

7 egg yolks

1/2 cup cold water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

7 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Set aside an ungreased 10-inch tube pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together into a bowl. Make a well and add the oil, egg yolks, water and vanilla and almond extracts. Beat with a spoon until smooth, or mix with an electric mixer on medium speed, 1 minute.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not under-beat. Gradually pour the yolk mixture over the beaten whites, folding just until blended. Do not stir. Fold in the coconut. Pour the batter into the pan.

Bake the cake 55 minutes, then increase the temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the cake springs back when touched, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the pan upside down and place over the neck of a funnel or bottle to cool.

WHITE MOUNTAIN FROSTING

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

3 egg whites, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Combine the sugar, corn syrup and water in a small heavy saucepan. Insert a candy thermometer and partly cover the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the lid and boil without stirring until a drop on the tip of a spoon will spin a 6-to 8-inch thread, or the thermometer registers 240 to 242 degrees.

Just before the syrup reaches the proper temperature, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. When the syrup reaches the correct temperature, set the mixer at high speed and pour the syrup into the whites in a slow thin stream. Beat until glossy and firm enough to hold their shape, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

ASSEMBLY

1 1/2 cups flake sweetened coconut

Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with a spatula and remove from the pan. Cut the cake in half using a serrated knife to make 2 layers. Fill the cake with about 1/4 of the frosting, then replace the top layer. Frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle generously with the coconut.

12 servings. Each serving: 470 calories; 371 mg sodium; 130 mg cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.57 gram fiber.