Bourbon Banana Chiffon Cake

Chiffon cake is the cloud-light Southern cousin of angel food, and this version doubles down on flavor with mashed bananas in the batter and a bourbon-milk glaze poured over the top. The result is sky-tall, faintly boozy, and tender enough to pull apart with two forks.

The technique that makes a chiffon work is the two-stage fold. Egg whites get beaten with cream of tartar to stiff peaks in one bowl. The yolks, oil, mashed banana and bourbon-water mixture go into a well dug into the dry ingredients in another. Then a third of the yolk batter is dropped onto the whites and gently folded, twice more, never stirring out the air you just whipped in.

Do not grease the tube pan. The batter needs the bare metal walls to climb. And do not open the oven door during the first 55 minutes, or the cake collapses on the spot. When it comes out, hang the pan upside down on a bottle neck to cool. Gravity is the only thing keeping that delicate crumb from compacting.

Pro Tips

• Use very ripe bananas, the kind with brown freckles. Underripe bananas taste starchy and barely register in the finished cake.
• Bring the egg whites to room temperature before whipping. Cold whites take twice as long to reach stiff peaks and the foam is less stable.
• Sift the cake flour twice. Chiffon needs the lightest possible dry ingredients, and even small lumps deflate the batter as you fold.
• Glaze the cake while the bourbon-milk syrup is still hot. Cold glaze sits on top in a thick puddle instead of running down the sides in soft ribbons.

Variations

• Swap bourbon for dark rum and use brown sugar in the glaze for a banana-foster vibe.
• Fold a half cup of toasted chopped pecans into the batter just before pouring into the pan for crunch and Southern flair.
• Top with a brown butter cream cheese frosting in place of the glaze for a richer special-occasion finish.