Sweet Centenarian

Chiffon is the 100-Year-Old That’s Trending Again

by AnnMarie Mattila

Recently, The New York Times boldly proclaimed that chiffon cakes are making a comeback. But unlike other cake trends with more obvious pizzazz, such as over-the-top Lambeth piping, the revival of chiffon seems less about specific customer demand and more about a preference among chefs. With a delicate balance of light, yet sturdy, texture and the flexibility to be featured in numerous applications, it offers endless versatility in the kitchen. It almost makes you wonder: Why did anyone stop making chiffon in the first place?

Of course, chiffon cakes are nothing new. After being invented in the 1920s, they became a staple in both homes and restaurants for decades. Then came the homey, denser cake movement of the early 2000s. Establishments such as Magnolia Bakery, with its now ubiquitous, heavily frosted cupcakes, and Milk Bar’s naked cake with firmly stacked layers had customers clamoring for the nostalgia of grandma-inspired American desserts.

But as trends come and go, the pendulum has started to swing back in favor of lighter cakes. Asian-style bakeries, featuring fluffy pandan cakes and their takes on Western inspired treats, have gained mainstream popularity. Bakery chains such as Paris Baguette offer several chiffon cakes with airy fillings on their menus year-round, from blueberry to the more evergreen chocolate. They line the display cases, mingling among the other cakes as part of the permanent menu.

And in restaurant kitchens, pastry chefs are falling in love again with chiffon’s versatility. As Jeffrey Wurtz, Executive Pastry Chef of Café Carmellini, explains: “The cake is light and flavorful, yet delicate, and holds its structure with all the other components of a dish.” A recent menu featured a pile of fresh citrus supremes and blood orange sorbetto atop a layer of chiffon cake.

“It is surprisingly sturdy and holds up well under refrigeration, which makes it ideal for cakes that are layered with perishable ingredients like mousse, fruit, and cream,” says Rebekah Radewahn, Pastry Chef at I.d. Delafield in Wisconsin. She uses chiffon in many applications, particularly in chilled and frozen desserts, for that reason. “Because it is made with oil instead of butter, it doesn’t get hard or dry when cold, whereas a butter cake is best when served at room temperature.”

Chiffon cakes are quite literally flexible in their applications, too. They can be rolled into roulades as easily as they can be sliced thin for a layer cake or as a component in a glazed dome. Radewahn often toggles between them, offering a rolled, chocolate bûche de Noël for Christmas and then switching to a layered strawberry shortcake with b infused white chocolate cream, roaste strawberry jam, strawberry foam and     t pea ice cream for spring.

After being featured in The New Yo Times piece, author and chef Natasha Pickowicz further explained on social media that chiffon is her “go-to form for any layer cake because its cloudlik yet-substantial texture and knack for receiving additional flavor via soaks like milk and teas, is, in my opinion, unparalleled.” Radewhan agrees, noting, “It can be flavored with an endless variety of different additives (any type of citrus zest, cocoa, poppyseeds, coffee, spices, etc.) and it is cost-effective with basic ingredients.”

For Hannah Ziskin of Quarter Sheets in Los Angeles, chiffon’s benefit is for yet another practical reason: No one wants to eat anything particularly heavy after a big, savory meal. Ziskin explains that she asked herself: “What do you want to eat after you eat a bunch of pizza?” And her answer was a slice of chiffon slab cake. “You can finish it, because the cake is light, and it’s not super sweet,” she says. Understanding the menu balance, particularly in a restaurant setting, is key to extending the client’s experience.

So, perhaps customers are not seeking out chiffon by name quite yet, but chiffon is most certainly making the comeback it deserves behind the scenes. “The sponge is lovely, delicate, and light, and really sets off the other ingredients it’s paired with, without being overpowering in texture or flavor,” concludes Radewahn. Like many chefs, she plans to continue creating with chiffon as her menus develop. Versatility is the name of the game, and chiffon has what it takes to keep winning, even 100 years later.

(This article appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)