Chiffon Cake with Strawberries and Cream

1. Cake Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Whisk together oil, egg yolks, and milk in a large bowl. Whisk flour mixture into egg-yolk mixture.

2. Beat egg whites with a mixer on high speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and vanilla seeds or extract, and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Whisk one-third of the egg-white mixture into batter. Gently but thoroughly fold in remaining egg-white mixture with a rubber spatula.

3. Transfer batter to tube pan. Bake until top of cake springs back when touched, 52-55 minutes. Let cool upside down (over a bottle or on tube pan feet) 1 hour.

4. Berries and Cream While cake is baking and cooling, combine strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and salt, and let sit, stirring occasionally for 1 hour. Just before assembling, beat cream and confectioners sugar until medium peaks form.

5. Serve slices of cake dolloped with whipping cream and mounded with strawberries.

6. Note I like to stir pastry cream into the whipping cream, for added deliciousness.