Peach Oolong Chiffon Cake — A 10pm Disaster and a Midnight Redemption

This cake almost didn’t exist. Well — it did exist, briefly, before my clumsy self tried to flip it over and it landed on the floor at 10pm the night before my friend’s birthday. 😭

My heart literally stopped. Thanks to the aluminium pan, it did not just fall out and praying to all the baking gods, I flipped it around and my heart sunk, it was like a sinkhole had appeared. And this is a cake for one of my closest friends. As they say in gaming, gg go next.

The Chaos (a tribute to the fallen cake)

Moment of silence for this one. It smelled incredible. It did nothing wrong. It still made a really good snack for my family’s morning tea. Truly a casualty of a tired baker and an overly optimistic one-handed flip. 🫡

The second cake was in the oven by 11:00pm and I finished baking it just before 12. Honestly? It came out better than the first one.

Why peach and oolong though?

Oolong has this naturally floral, slightly roasted note that pairs beautifully with stone fruit. It’s also a super popular flavour combination in Asia. The oolong gets steeped into the milk for the chiffon, into the cream for the frosting, and the peaches get cooked down into a compote that goes between the layers and piled on top. Layers on layers and you can get a mix of flavours in every bite.

How to make a cake even more interesting

This was my favourite little addition. Oolong steeped into cream and milk, set with gelatine (i used vegan gelatine) into these soft jiggly squares that go between the cake layers. It adds a creamy, pudding-like texture between the chiffon that is so good. Don’t skip it!!

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Ingredients — Makes one 6” cake

Chiffon (use a 6” aluminium pan)

• 3 eggs, yolk and white separated
• 35g oolong milk tea ¹
• 30g vegetable oil
• 45g cake flour ²
• 35g caster sugar

Oolong Milk Jelly

• 60g oolong cream
• 140g oolong milk
• 15g caster sugar
• 5g vegan gelatine (or 10g gelatine sheets)

Peach Compote

• 3 peaches, peeled and diced
• 20g sugar
• A few drops of lemon juice

Oolong Cream

• 500g cream
• 2 oolong tea bags
• 30g sugar or condensed milk ³

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Method

Make the oolong milk tea first

Heat 8g of oolong leaves (or 1-2 tea bags) in warm milk over the stove until you get a strong brew. You’ll use this for both the chiffon and the jelly — so make a decent amount. How strong you go is up to you, but I hecking love a strong tea flavour. It also tastes pretty amazing on its own. ☺️

Make the peach compote

1. Place the peach skins in a small saucepan with water and 20g sugar. Cook down until the water turns a beautiful pink, then add a few drops of lemon juice to help the colour along. Remove the skins.
2. Add the diced peaches to the pink syrup and cook until the peaches are soft and the mixture is thick. Set aside to cool.

Make the milk jelly

Combine the oolong cream, oolong milk, and sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Add the gelatine and stir until fully dissolved. Pour into a flat container and refrigerate until set, then cut into small squares. These go between the layers — do not skip them!! 🤍

Make the chiffon

1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Separate the eggs and put the whites straight in the freezer — this makes them more stable when whisking.
2. Whisk together the oolong milk tea and oil until emulsified. It should look like a watery yogurt.
3. Sift in the flour and mix with a Z-shape motion. Be gentle — we’re not trying to develop any gluten here.
4. Add the egg yolks one by one and mix gently. Cover with a tea towel and set aside.
5. Take the egg whites out of the freezer and add a small splash of lemon juice, cream of tartar, or white vinegar to stabilise them.
6. Using a hand beater on high speed, whisk the egg whites until large bubbles form. Add 1/3 of the sugar and keep beating. Once the bubbles disappear and it turns frothy, add another 1/3. Keep whisking until the mixture turns white, then add the last 1/3 and turn the speed down to medium. Whisk to soft peaks (the whites form a little hook when you lift the beater), then switch to low until you reach stiff peaks — they should stand straight up.
7. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the batter gently. You don’t want to deflate it.
8. Once combined, fold everything back into the remaining meringue.
9. Pour the batter from about 30cm above into an ungreased aluminium pan (removable bottom is ideal, otherwise line just the base with baking paper). Don’t line the sides — the batter needs to grip the edges to climb and hold its height.
10. Gently drop the pan on the counter or run a skewer through in circles to pop any big air bubbles.
11. Bake at 150°C for 50 minutes.
12. As soon as it comes out, drop the pan on the counter once, then immediately flip it upside down to cool for at least 4 hours. ⁴

Chiffon layers sliced and ready 🥰

Make the oolong cream

Steep the tea bags in the cream and leave overnight in the fridge. The longer steep makes such a difference — the flavour is so much more pronounced. Remove the bags, add sugar or condensed milk, and whip to stiff peaks.

Assemble

1. Place your first chiffon layer on a cake board. Pipe a ring of cream around the edge as a dam, then fill however you like — I did one layer of milk jelly, one of peach compote.
2. Add the next layer and repeat. Stack all the layers.
3. Coat the outside with the remaining cream and pipe whatever designs feel right. Have fun with it — this is the good part.

And Finished!!

My friend sent me the image of the cross section 🥰

Worth every minute of the midnight bake. 🍑🌙

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Tips & Notes

1. Steep 8g of oolong leaves in warm milk to make the tea. Adjust the steeping time and amount of leaves based on how strong you want the oolong flavour to come through — I like it quite pronounced so I go longer.

2. Cake flour (also called low protein flour) has less gluten than plain flour, which gives the chiffon that super light, soft crumb. It’s worth tracking down — substituting plain flour will make the cake noticeably denser.

3. Condensed milk instead of sugar in the cream adds a subtle milkiness that complements the oolong really well. Highly recommend trying it this way!

4. Chiffon cakes need to cool upside down so they don’t collapse under their own weight while still warm. If your tin doesn’t have legs, rest it on a bottle or elevated rack.