Soft and light chiffon cake frosted with the fluffiest whipped mango cream frosting. This mango chiffon cake is a joy to eat and perfect for summer.
(Love mango cakes? Try this reader favorite mango float recipe, you don’t even need to bake it!)
It’s a gorgeous day as I’m typing this – it’s warm, the sun is out, not a cloud in the sky.
I know it’s not summer yet (technically next week it will be *happy dance*) but today is such a lovely day, perfect for this mango chiffon cake – soft, light and frosted with the most delightful whipped mango cream frosting.
A Filipino mango chiffon cake copycat, sort of
There’s this mango chiffon cake from home that I wanted to recreate but for the life of me I could not remember exactly what it tasted like. I knew the cake base was probably vanilla chiffon and the frosting was mango but that was it.
All I was sure of was it was delicious and it was a cake my family and I loved (you know how Filipinos love mango, check out my No Bake Mango Cheesecake – it has video!).
First, the chiffon cake
So I proceeded to make the chiffon cake first.
The recipe I used is based on a recipe from the book Joy of Cooking
and it is amazing.
Very soft, light as air and not overtly sweet. I could have eaten it on its own but I was a homesick girl on a mission (hard to stop homesick girls on a mission).
Next, the mango frosting
I knew I needed a frosting as light as this cake; something that won’t bring it down.
I immediately thought of doing a whipped cream frosting but the weather being as warm as it was, I didn’t want it going all creepy-snowman-melting on me.
Stabilized whipped cream frosting
So I decided to stabilize the cream with some gelatine.
I’ve read this is the secret weapon pro bake shops use so I did it. The first batch was not as silky as I’d like and didn’t go on as smoothly but my second try was a winner.
I found that gradually adding the gelatine into the whipped cream in a steady stream was key.
And keep whipping that cream!
You would end up with incredible frosting that’s smooth, a dream to frost and pipe with, and could stand the warm summer weather way better than regular whipped frosting.
It’s a show stealer of a frosting, this one.
Related: How To Make Your Own Whipped Cream
Mango chiffon cake, TUB-style
The resulting cake is so good.
You know how we usually give most of my baked goods away? Did not happen with this cake. Nope. We kept and ate it all. Not ashamed. That was how good it was!
I may never know if this tastes like the cake of my childhood but I don’t know if I care that much anymore. Because it is phenomenal. Try it, you will not be disappointed.
Mango Chiffon Cake with Whipped Mango Cream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Chiffon Cake:
- 2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 pcs egg yolks from large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup water room temperature
- ½ cup canola oil you can substitute any flavourless oil
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 pcs egg whites from large eggs room temperature
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
For the Whipped Mango Cream Frosting:
- 1 packet unflavoured gelatine equivalent to 1 tablespoon
- ¼ cup cold water
- 2 cups heavy cream chilled
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup mango puree see notes
Assembly:
- Flesh from 2 ripe, sweet mangoes chopped
Instructions
For the Chiffon Cake:
- Pre-heat your oven to 325F and line the bottom of 3 9-inch round pans with parchment paper. Do not grease.
- In a large bowl, whisk 2 ¼ cups cake flour, 1 ¼ cups sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt until combined. Set aside.
- Using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat 5 egg yolks, ¾ cup water, ½ cup canola oil, 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla on high speed until smooth and creamy (about a minute). Set aside.
- Using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (if using the same mixers, ensure they are clean, dry and grease-free), beat 8 egg whites and ½ teaspoon cream of tartar on medium speed until you reach soft peaks (about 1-2 minutes). Then switch to high speed and gradually add ¼ cup sugar. Beat until the egg whites are very stiff and dry (about 5 minutes).
- Whisk your egg yolk mixture into your flour mixture until smooth and incorporated.
- Then fold your egg whites into your batter in thirds. Gently fold until each addition is incorporated.
- Transfer the batter equally into your 3 pans and bake for 30 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Run a sharp knife along the sides of each cake and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then unmold and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Whipped Mango Cream Frosting:
- Pour 1 packet of unflavoured gelatine into ¼ cup cold water. Do not stir. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow it to bloom.
- In the meantime, using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 2 cups heavy cream, 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla on medium high speed until you reach soft peaks.
- Get your gelatine and microwave for 10 seconds. Whisk until smooth (it shouldn’t be warm to the touch). With the mixer still on, gradually pour it in a steady stream into your whipped cream. Continue whipping until the gelatine is incorporated.
- Add 1 cup mango puree and whip the cream until you reach stiff peaks or you get the consistency you want.
Assembly:
- Take about a cup of your whipped frosting and combine with your chopped mangoes. Divide the mixture into two.
- Evenly spread half of the mixture on top of the first cake layer. Put on the next cake layer and spread the rest of the mixture on top of that. Put the last cake layer on and proceed to cover the rest of the cake with whipped frosting and decorate as desired.
- Chill for at least 3 hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
(Chiffon cake recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking.)
Happy baking!
Did you bake mango chiffon cake? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
Harini
Hello Jolina
thank you so much for the amazing recipe. if i have to substitute Gelatin with Agar agar for the whipped cream recipe, what will be the proportion .
kindly help
thank you
Jolina
Hi Harini, unfortunately I don’t use agar agar. However, I did find this article for you: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-agar-agar/ Hope it helps!
Johanne Morales
Hi, I would like try to make a rolled cake using this recipe. Do you know how much should I use to adjust to make for a 12 x 16inch pan that’s 0.5inch thick? Thanks!
Jolina
Hi Johanne, I haven’t tried making this into a roll cake so don’t know the measurements. Others might have so hopefully they can chime in with tips!
Cai
Made this and the cake was so good! Thank you for sharing.. just wanted to know how to make the icing more stable since when adding the puree, the icing becomes watery..
Jolina
Hi Cai, when making the frosting make sure your heavy cream is properly chilled and your gelatine is bloomed properly. I don’t usually chill the mango puree but chilling it a little might help in case your kitchen gets very warm.
Elaine
I made your recipe and it was a very big cake! The icing was not enough for the whole cake but it was delicious and everyone had seconds. Next time I will double the icing or half the batter. Thanks for the recipe.
Jolina
Hi Elaine, glad you liked it!
Joy
I’ve made this recipe a few times and they were great. But this time I made it when the weather was really hot. And my frosting split, into like wet scrambled eggs. Any ideas why? I also halve the recipe.
Jolina
Hi Joy, whipped cream does tend to split and break if the weather is hot and humid. A blogger friend of mine has a tip: try placing a bowl of ice water underneath your bowl of cream then whip. That might help things along.
Min
Can I use two pans instead of 3? How long should I bake them if two pans will be used?
Jolina
Hi Min! I always bake this in 3 pans. It will definitely be too much batter if you just use 2. If you want to use different-sized pans, the baking time will be different so watch out for that. Here’s a great pan conversion resource: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/cake-pan-sizes/
Jayz
Hi, I don’t have cream of tartar at home, can I substitute it with something else? Thanks in advance!
Jolina
Hi Jayz! Here’s a great article I found: https://www.thespruceeats.com/cream-of-tartar-substitute-1388882 Hope it helps
Rosana Checchia-Maio
Picked your recipe after a few hours of research on the request of my son for a mango cake. I have never even eating a mango cake before nor made whipped cream icing! Glad I chose this one! Vanilla cake is tough to get moist but this cake was moist and fluffy like a jiggly cloud. One thing I would change would to make the icing a little sweeter. The cake is so light and the mango is a mild flavour so a little pop of sweet would be great
Jolina
Hope the birthday celebrant was happy with his cake 🙂 And yes, the frosting is forgiving and easy to adjust to your liking.
Mary-Suzette
I’m not sure if you’ll see this in time, but have you tried adding mangoes and/or mango puree to the chiffon cake batter?
Jolina
Hi Mary-Suzette! No I haven’t tried.
Joy
I’m making this cake for mother’s day. My whipped cream frosting looks very runny.. will it stiffen up as it chill or will it stiffen if whip it more ? I’ve never made a chiffon cake and whipped cream frosting before so it makes me nervous. Though the chiffon cake looks and taste very pillowy now.
Jolina
Hi Joy! You should get to soft peaks pretty quickly, within the first 5 minutes using a stand mixer. Then just continue whipping until your frosting stands upright on your beater when you hold it up. Careful not to over beat it else the cream will curdle. It should be creamy and pillowy as well.
Jan
Would mango juice work in lieu of mango puree? Or would that be too runny? What brand did you use? We don’t really have mango puree in our stores here except for the ones mixed with vegetables for babies. I could order off amazon but since we do have mango juice in hand would that still work?
Jolina
Hi Jan! I always use mango puree so can’t say for certain. But you’re right, it might be too runny; the puree is thicker. I usually buy the Philippines brand.
Jan
Thank you! Ours turned out great. Did have to tweak a little but my family loved it!!
Becca
Hi, would it work if I half the recipe to make a smaller cake?
Thabks
Jolina
Hi Becca! On the recipe card, you can adjust the serving size. Right now it’s on 12, you can slide that up or down as needed and the ingredient list will adjust automatically. Enjoy!
Jamie
I used your chiffon cake recipe and it’s fantastic. I have 8-inch round cake pans, and they turned out quite thick. But my layer cake ended up looking like a tall one. Delicious flavor; you get a subtle hint of the zest. I used orange zest since that’s what I had on hand and it was tasty. I’ve had trouble in the past with chiffon cake, but your recipe gave me the best chiffon I’ve ever made. Thank you! It froze well and it has been spongey and soft after 2 days in the fridge too.
Any help on reducing the mixture to make just one cake layer would be great. I’m not very good at that and mess things up a lot.
Jolina
Hi Jamie! Glad you liked it 🙂 I’ve only ever used these measurements so not sure how to make a smaller cake. You can try to half the recipe or use bigger pans for a slightly shorter layer cake.
Shilpi
I think there is a step missing. How are we incorporating the wet and dry mixture?
Jolina
Hello again! You are absolutely correct. I updated the recipe. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Shilpi
Hi Jolina,
For how long can I store the unfrosted chiffon cakes in the freezer/ fridge?
Jolina
Hi Shilpi, I usually only chill the cake wrapped in glad wrap for a few hours before I frost it. I’ve never frozen them before so I’m not sure. I did find this article that might help you: https://www.thekitchn.com/quick-tip-freeze-prebaked-cake-82245