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Just a few months ago, I began my 6 month Baker Residency at Carolina Ground in WNC. The first recipe that I jumped into testing first, a favorite amongst recipe developers and readers alike, was the chiffon sponge. In my cake making days of business ownership the chiffon sponge cake was the most used cake recipe in my arsenal. This particular recipe’s ability to absorb an additional flavor component in the form of a liquid soak whilst acting as a tender yet structurally sound foundation for stacking creams, custards and jams is a miracle. And it also happens to be incredibly flexible with its ability to blend different flours to create unique flavor combinations.

I recently subbed 20% of the Spelt with a fine cornmeal from Two Stones Farm and Mill in a cake I made for Pie Party 2026 (!) alongside baking bestie Keia Mastrianni, the word wizard behind Pleasant Living and Milk Glass Pie. Pie Party, which is hosted on Old North Farm and pairs Keia with a featured baking guest, was a dreamy event filled with hungry, baked good lovers and local vendors on a gorgeous Sunday morning in May; the familiar strumming of mellow acoustic guitar covers being carried across the eager chitter chatter by the sweet Spring breeze. The sponge cake was a lovely texture with a bit of tooth from the cornmeal that lifted the chrysanthemum soaked custard and sumac spiced strawberry compote to new heights. The fig leaf soak with leaves plucked from the garden just outside was just the delicate kiss the cake needed.

Adorned in Elderflower and Chamomile from the farm, she was a hit.

The flour choice in this cake is a very intentional one. Stacked celebration cakes have become ever popular hence the rise of chiffon recipes being scattered all throughout the internet by almost any cake baker worth their salt. If you are an avid cake baker you may have noticed your social media channels become inundated with breathtaking photos of stacked cakes adorned in all sorts of beautiful florals. I myself made many of these cakes while I operated my bakery business in Florida and so in the midst of all the baking and decorating I realized that so much of the formulas out there for chiffon cake feature roller milled white flour. Working with Carolina Ground flours at the time meant that I was producing chiffon cakes with stone milled flour but it was a high extraction AP; I wanted to see how this cake would work with 100% whole grain flour. Turns out, it works incredibly well.

Chiffon is a type of sponge cake, meaning it is leavened (partially) with a whipped egg foam, so whole grain flour works really well in this application because the meringue does a stellar job in lightening the texture that would otherwise be compromised using a whole grain flour. Spelt, fortunately so, is neither a soft nor hard wheat, it falls somewhere in between, positioning itself to do well in both cakes and breads. And though it is usually prized for its nuttiness and slightly sweet flavor profile, this last harvest of Carolina Ground Spelt is quite floral and bright, an ideal profile for a cake flour.

Structure & Texture

When stacking a cake, the ideal sponge cake won’t crumble under pressure. It’ll hold the ability to serve as the base for jams, ganache or whipped custards. Structural ability, moisture and tenderness are all key components to a reliable recipe, so while chiffon sponges are not necessarily known for the purpose of stacking high, the whole grain in this recipe really boosts its ability to do as such.

For me, the texture of a butter cake, while I love, tends to lean on the heavier side when enjoying the perfect bite of cake; the ratio of cake to filling to icing floating in just the right spot. And since I love to incorporate as many flavor components as possible, I want a cake that is light enough to not result in a finished bite that is not too decadent which the chiffon does beautifully here.

On Meringue

I know that we all love to skip straight to the recipe, but it is important to go over some notes before you dive in. If you aren’t familiar with egg foams or folding meringues into batters then it’s helpful to take a second to get a understanding of the process before diving in.

The ideal meringue stiffness for this cake is a medium stiff peak. Simply speaking, a meringue peak that when lifted into the air with the whisk attachment it holds its shape but still exhibits some softness (weakness).

If you take your meringue too far, it will deflate due to too much agitation as you try and fold it into your batter resulting in a collapsed cake.

Should you not whip it enough, and you will not have trapped enough stable air pockets amongst the protein of the egg whites resulting in a cake with lackluster texture, rise and mouth feel. Here, the meringue really is the make or break moment, so keep a close eye on it.

When whipping egg whites for this cake specifically, instead of adding the sugar in increments, I prefer to combine the sugar, lemon juice and egg whites at once and begin mixing on medium speed. This is usually 4 on a kitchen aid though this may vary depending on the QT size of your mixer. Trust your gut, you know your machinery better than I do! Once the sugar has fully dissolved and a bubbly egg foam is forming you can bump up the speed slightly and allow it to mix until ready. Don’t be surprised at how long this may take. Over the various tests of this cake, the meringue took between 15-25 minutes to reach the desired consistency.

For visual reference, here is a meringue that is not ready:

Here is one that is:

Folding a Cake Batter

When folding a meringue into a batter, start by placing the rubber spatula in the center of the bowl, dipping your spatula through and underneath the batter while working your way out towards the side of the bowl closest to your stomach in a circular motion. Once you’ve reached the outer wall of the bowl, lift your spatula and let the batter drop and move back to the center again, repeating this while turning your bowl with your left hand until all the meringue has all been folded in. This movement somewhat “caresses” the batter rather than beating right through it, protecting all the precious air you whipped into your egg foam.

A good sign of overfolding/deflating is you’ll see a very large amount of small air bubbles on the surface of your batter, these are the air pockets that are no longer trapped in the protein structure of the egg white escaping. If you see this, do not keep folding as you want to ensure you keep intact as much of the well whipped meringue as possible. If you must continue folding to incorporate all of the meringue, don’t scrap it, follow through and bake the cake. The baking powder will aid in the lift but know that your structure will be compromised. Fortunately, the cake will still be delicious and edible, so just try and try again until you are very familiar with what the meringue should look like when it’s ready. We love a cake that is forgiving.

To tube or not to tube?

I have baked this cake enough to know that I despise the chiffon tube pan. But, please by all means bake in whatever mold your heart desires. In a production setting, I prefer to bake this cake in a traditional tall rimmed cake pan with or without a removable bottom. Since we are going to torte the cake (cut it down the center horizontally into two pieces) and ice it, I am not at all worried about the exterior look of the cake. Tube pans are wonderful for serving a chiffon as is with whipped cream and some macerated berries, but they require a lot of trial and error (trust me) to get a perfectly released cake with no blemishes.

If you know me, you know I don’t enjoy fussing over such things. I want my cakes baked well above all else and really love for my products to look rustic, so ultimately, the tube pan and I just do not vibe; it either comes out perfectly, no chunks missing in sight, or utterly fucked. It’s quite a different experience than baking a pound cake in a bundt pan which I absolutely love. But, don’t just blindly trust me; give it all a try and lean into your favorite!

Baking

This cake bakes lovely at 325F with a low fan convection, if your oven possesses the ability, or 350F in a traditional home oven with no convection fan option. I have tested this formula in a Breville Countertop oven that is shockingly great at baking an array of products.

For this particular recipe, I baked in an 8” springform pan which has a higher wall (around 2.75”) than your traditional Wilton cake pan which hovers at 2”. The higher rim on the springform allows the cake to rise to it’s highest potential while still giving you room to flip the pan upside down to let it cool without squishing the top of the cake against the table surface. It also makes for an easy release with the clasped ring wall.

The cake will bake for 28 - 30 minutes at 325F in an 8” springform pan. If you don’t have a springform, don’t stress over buying one. An 8” Wilton cake pan will still do the trick, just know that the cake will rise above the rim of the pan.

I like to temp my cakes to ensure a proper bake. You can go off intuition and color but this chiffon can be a bit tricky in that the top center will still be a bit ooey gooey leading to it collapsing in that spot once it cools. I rather be certain it reached at least 196F and allow the magic of carryover baking handle the last bit. Cakes are fully baked at an internal temp of 200F - 210F, but I’m happy with this cake done at 200F.

Storage

This cake freezes incredibly well which if you are in a production setting is most likely already a process that’s well integrated into your flow.

Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan, release it and wrap nicely. Then freeze it until you are ready to stack and ice it. Once you are ready to move onto the next step, you can allow it to that and then soak it if that is your desire, or you can soak it before you freeze. There are no strict rules here, do what works best for your intended end result.

Alternatively, if you are enjoying it fresh with berries and cream then simply allow it to cool completely and then enjoy. This cake is really incredible eaten fresh the day of.

Enjoy. ❤️

Whole Grain Spelt Chiffon

• 60 grams Pure Cane Sugar #1

• 44 grams Olive Oil

• 74 grams Whole Milk

• 56 grams Egg Yolks

• 5 grams Vanilla Paste (optional)

• 3 grams Fine Sea Salt

• 109 grams Whole Grain Spelt

• 5 grams Baking Powder

• 87 grams Fresh Egg White

• 58 grams Pure Cane Sugar #2

• 5 grams Lemon Juice

Process

• Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly spray the bottom of your 8” pan with nonstick spray. Do not spray the walls. You want your batter to "cling” onto the walls as it rises up and bakes.

• In the bowl of a stand mixer combine cold egg whites, sugar #2 and lemon juice. Mix the egg white mixture on medium speed until medium stiff peak. This will take a while, in the meantime gather the rest of your ingredients.

• While your egg whites are whipping, combine the first six ingredients in a medium sized bowl and blend well with a whisk. The proper sized bowl will have room for you to fold in the meringue.

  • Do not let the egg yolks sit in sugar long without whisking!1

• Combine your whole spelt flour and baking powder well in a separate bowl with a whisk. There is no need to sift here. Simply combine and set aside.

• Keep an eye on your meringue, you do not want to overwhip! Once the meringue is a few minutes from being whipped to the ideal stage, add your flour and baking powder mixture into your wet mixture and whisk until no flour pebbles remain.

• Once ready, whisk in 1/4 of your meringue into the cake batter and mix well, nearly deflating the meringue2.

• Fold in the remaining meringue in 2-3 additions. see meringue note above.

• Pour into prepared pan and bake at 325F for 28-30 min or until the cake internal temperature reads at 196F.

• Flip upside down and allow to cool completely before releasing from the pan.

• Follow cooling and storage instructions above.

Bright eyed I rose again, this time fully prepared to approach the morning with momentum and intention. I probe both the casual blend of flours and peaked starter with a thermometer, calculating the water temperature needed to create the ideal fermentation environment for my dough in the early morning chill of the home bakery, then dive in. Sticky with an incohesive coating of water and flour, with the birds merrily chirping away outside, my hand gets down to the business of mixing, clawing and kneading, a task it is all too familiar with; muscle memory kicks in and we’re off.

I now sit on the porch of my dear friend Keia’s home, giant Carpenter bees zooming all around me, dodging what seem like coordinated attacks, and type these words in between bread folds, once again in the rhythm of making bread. Her farm home, nestled in a rural corner of Cleveland County in Shelby, NC, where she and her husband Jamie operate Old North Farm, Pleasant Living and her Cottage bakery Milk Glass Pie (which has recently drastically slowed its production), provides a welcoming space to simply exist in whatever state of mind or circumstance you find yourself in upon arriving; a “soft landing” as she so lovingly calls it. They were kind enough to welcome me into the fold, allowing this to become a temporary safe haven before settling into the Western North Carolina area after leaving the bustling energy of New York, arriving in early April to the embracing arms of Southern hospitality.

Hold that thought, my thirty minute timer just went off, time to do the second fold…

The dough is looking nice and strong, slowly filling out with Co2 as the starter I prepared this morning consumes the lively blend of flours that went into this batch; a hearty blend we’re calling the Farmhouse Loaf which contains Anson Mills Red Fife, Carolina Ground whole Red wheat, Sparrowbush Bakery sifted wheat (variety unknown) and whole Spelt topped off with the Ancient Grains Flour blend from Ground Up Grain which is a blend of Red Winter and Spring wheat, Barley and Spelt; all in varying proportions that I cannot share with you at this moment because I simply dumped in the last remains of several small bags of flour that traveled with me down from New York accompanied by some that were here when I arrived. A blend of the Northeast and South, just like my life right now; I should call it the Comeback Loaf instead.

Motivation to publish something, anything on this channel comes in frustrating waves of intense inspiration that gets inevitably overshadowed by my total lack of structure for the practice of writing and my constant battle with imposter syndrome. Most well intentioned ideas end up in the mental trash bin never seeing the light of day, something I fully recognize and fight against most waking hours. It took my baking practice, the methodical and structured schedule of bread to get my ass into gear to type these words down. With timers set, I can get down to the work of decluttering my mind with hope that I can create something coherent and worthwhile your time, all while nature takes its course in providing us sustenance just one room away.

A well fermented mass of dough is a sight to see. It fills the bowl, jiggling and wiggling, responding to infinite variables affecting its rise that range from temperature to even the mood of the baker. As it nears the end of bulk fermentation, I move into the final coil fold of the dough which will eventually turn into dark amber colored bread that will feed us tomorrow. I think about how the microorganisms present in a starter and the resulting dough, like myself, require just the right environment in which to thrive. Feeding off not just the organic matter present in the flour, but off my newfound peace and calm this dough is billowy and happy, assured that it is on the right path to a good bake. After years of personal struggle, and healing, am I finally as well?

Unbeknownst to myself, I had been wholly unfed in the years of operating Nomad, much like the original bakery starter I accidentally left behind on my stopover at this very same farm just two years ago as I drove myself North; the shattered pieces of both my career and personal life trailing behind me much like soda cans tied to the boot of a car driving off newlyweds to their eternal bliss. The loss of that culture was devastating. Hours after my departure and upon realizing what I’d left behind, as I weaved through the hairpin shaped back roads of rural North Carolina, I grasped the steering wheel tight as I uncontrollably sobbed. I had left behind the last tangible thing connecting me to my previous baking practice, a starter I had continuously fed and nurtured for 7 years; this, I thought, was a powerful message from the universe that it was truly over, the final page turned on the last chapter of Nomad.

The morning quickly passes by; in a daze I get lost in my favorite step of the process, dividing and shaping. I check in with the dough, is it ready to be divided? Does it need a tight pre-shape? With myself, what do I want out of this next chapter of life? How can my past experiences inform what’s to come?….What’s for lunch…?

It’s no shock that when I snap back to reality the work is done, the dough is rounded neatly into four tightly organized mounds of dough. This particular step in the process is my favorite for one very specific reason, I can escape into my mind while my well informed hands stay grounded, shaping; split into being present in my reality or creating a romantic alternate, I often get lost in silence here. No moment of my day as a bread baker am I more existential. What a treat for a Pisces to uninhibitedly escape to the dream world.

During my years of working in bakeries and bustling kitchens, these moments often prompted suspicion from others who’d ask questions like, “is Grace ok?”. I could understand the confusion at the sudden shift of mood from outward to inward, but never had the desire to explain that I simply escaped to a far away fantasy land that I would much rather be in. I now just laugh to myself at how I managed to exist in two worlds for so many years and express gratitude for the life I’ve created in the last two, one I don’t desire to escape from.

It’s the next morning and the aroma of freshly baking bread intensifies the bundle of nerves and giddy excitement brewing in my gut for what life has in store for me now. And for the hot bread we get to slather butter and jam on soon as we will undoubtedly not let it cool down long enough before slicing.

And so here I find myself, rooted in a new place, fulfilling the promise this bakery was named after; surrounded by breathtaking beauty, good people and new horizons. With a pinch of sourdough culture from the familiar baking space of the Carolina Ground test kitchen where I am to embark on my next baking chapter as a Baker in Residency, I return to the beaten path. Freshly fed this morning with a heaping of whole, stone milled Red wheat, my new starter ushers in a fresh beginning; both eager with the prospect of an ideal environment and constant nourishment, we begin anew.

❤️