Lemon Chiffon Cake recipe from 1950

This spongy Lemon Chiffon Cake recipe appeared in a newspaper dated June 14, 1950. Topped with lemon cream cheese frosting, it's a light, lemony dessert.

INGREDIENTS

Lemon Chiffon Cake:

• 2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour (225g)
• 1 ½ cups fine sugar (300g)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 5 egg yolks, unbeaten
• 1 tsp lemon rind
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Water
• 1 cup egg whites (7 or 8 eggs)
• ½ tsp cream of tartar

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 250g cream cheese
• 1 ¼ cups icing sugar (156g)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp lemon zest (to sprinkle on top)

Note: All ingredients should be room temperature unless otherwise stated.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 325°F/160C
• Need: Ungreased aluminum 10-inch tube pan (do not use non-stick)

Lemon Chiffon Cake:

1. Separate eggs. You will need 5 egg yolks and enough whites to make 1 cup of egg whites. (7 or 8 eggs.)
2. Grate and juice 1 lemon.
3. Pour juice into a measuring cup and add enough water to make ¾ of a cup of liquid.
4. Sift flour and measure.
5. In a large bowl, sift pre-sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
6. Make a well in the centre, add oil, unbeaten yolks, 1 teaspoon of lemon rind, and lemon/water liquid.
7. Beat together with a spoon or spatula until smooth.
8. Add egg whites to a large bowl. Sprinkle cream of tartar on top. Beat until stiff.
9. Gradually add the first mixture to the egg whites, a little at a time. Gently fold until fully incorporated after each addition.
10. Pour batter into an ungreased 10-inch aluminum tube pan. (Do not use non-stick.)
11. Gently cut through the batter with a knife to break any large air bubbles.
12. Bake in a preheated oven at 325°F/160°C for 50-60 minutes. (Bake times will vary. Keep an eye on it.) 
13. Invert pan until fully cool.
14. When fully cool, gently run a knife along the edge of the pan and remove from the pan. Then, run a knife under the cake to release it from the bottom cake pan.

Once the cake is cooled, remove from pan and ice as you like, or serve plain. :)

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Cream cream cheese until smooth.
2. Add icing sugar, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. 
3. Mix until spreadable. (If the frosting is too thin, add more icing sugar. If it's too think, add more lemon juice.)

Enjoy!

Notes:

• The original recipe called for a bake time of 1 hour and 15 minutes. Mine was done in just over 50 minutes. 
• An ungreased pan is important because the batter needs to cling to the sides of the pan to rise properly. For that reason, non-stick pans should not be used. 

Original newspaper clipping: