Fluffy Banana Chiffon Cake Recipe

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When you have overripe bananas, what do you do with them? Bake another heavy loaf of banana bread? I think you should make this banana chiffon cake instead. Ever since I was a teenager, banana chiffon cake has been the ultimate way to capture that intense, caramelized fruit sweetness without any of the density. It is cloud-like, delicate, and entirely elevated.

Ingredients for Banana Chiffon Cake

To get that intense, natural flavor, your bananas need to be truly ripe—the peel should be heavily speckled or even mostly black. This is when the starches have fully converted to sugars and the moisture content is perfect for blending into the yolk batter.

Here is everything you will need to bring this cake together:

• Ripe Bananas: The star of the cake—the riper, the better.
• Eggs: You will need both yolks and whites, separated.
• Sugar: I highly recommend using refined granulated sugar for this recipe, as it is much better for building a strong, stable meringue.
• Oil: I use Taihaku sesame oil (unroasted white sesame oil) for its incredibly clean, light profile, but any neutral oil will work perfectly for this recipe.
• Milk: This provides necessary hydration to the batter. If you want to make a dairy-free cake, you can easily substitute any non-dairy milk here.
• Lemon Juice: A small splash highlights the fruit flavor and prevents the mashed banana from oxidizing and turning brown.
• Pastry Flour & Baking Powder: These work together to give the cake its delicate, cloud-like structure and perfect lift. (See the next section for specific flour substitutions!)

The Science of Flour Ratios

Because chiffon relies on a delicate balance of moisture and structure, the type of flour you use dictates exactly how much liquid is needed. Different flours have different protein levels, which change how much milk they absorb.

My standard recipe uses Pastry Flour (8–9.5% protein), but here is the exact flour-to-milk ratio to use depending on what you have in your pantry:

• Pastry Flour (Standard): 80g flour / 28g whole milk
• Cake Flour: 85g flour / 25g whole milk
• All-Purpose (AP) Flour: 75g flour / 30g whole milk
• Violet Flour (Japanese Cake Flour): 90g flour / 35g whole milk

Choosing Your Pan (and How to Scale)

Chiffon cakes need to climb the walls of the pan to rise properly, which is why you must use an ungreased aluminum pan. Non-stick surfaces or greased walls will cause the batter to slide right back down.

While I typically use a traditional Japanese aluminum chiffon mold (which has a slightly steeper slope), standard American angel food cake pans work beautifully and are more widely available.

Because pan volumes vary wildly, I’ve scaled the recipe so you can use whatever you have in your kitchen:

Ingredient	17cm “Tall” Chiffon (4″ high)	17cm “Short” Chiffon (3.5″ high)	6×3 Inch Angel Food Pan	8×3 Inch Angel Food Pan
Egg Yolk	54g (~3 yolks)	50g	32g (~2 yolks)	65g (~4 yolks)
Granulated Sugar (A)	15g	14g	9g	18g
White Sesame Oil	30g	27g	18g	36g
Whole Milk	28g (see flour note)	25g	17g	34g
Lemon Juice	7g (0.5 tbsp)	6g	4g	8g
Ripe Banana	100g	90g	60g	120g
Pastry Flour	80g	72g	48g	96g
Baking Powder	3g (0.5 tsp)	2.5g	1.8g	3.6g
Egg White	140g (~4 whites)	126g	84g (~2.5 whites)	168g (~5 whites)
Granulated Sugar (B)	45g	41g	27g	54g

Directions

1. Prep

Heat your oven to 340°F (170°C), placing the rack in the lower third. Have your ungreased aluminum pan ready. Sift the pastry flour and baking powder together twice to ensure it is incredibly light.

2. Banana Base

Mash the very ripe banana (peeled weight) together with the lemon juice. Having tiny chunks of banana left over is perfectly fine, but if you prefer a completely smooth batter, you can use a hand blender to process the banana into a perfect purée. The acid in the lemon juice highlights the fruit flavor and keeps the color bright..

3. Yolk Batter

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with Sugar (A) until pale. Slowly stream in the white sesame oil and whisk until fully emulsified. Whisk in the mashed banana mixture and the whole milk. Finally, sift the dry flour mixture over the top and whisk just until smooth—do not overmix.

4. Meringue

In a separate, impeccably clean bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add Sugar (B) in three separate additions. Beat until you reach firm, glossy peaks that have just a slight bend at the tip (bird’s beak).

5. Fold

Whisk one-third of the meringue into the yolk batter to lighten it. Then, gently fold in the remaining meringue in two additions until the batter is just uniform. Pour the batter into your pan and run a wooden skewer through the batter once in a circle to release any large trapped air bubbles.

6. Bake (Stage 1)

Bake at 340°F (170°C) for 30 minutes without opening the oven door. (Note: For the smaller 6×3-inch pan, check at 25 minutes.)

7. Bake (Stage 2)

Lower the temperature to 320°F (160°C) and bake for 10 more minutes. The cake is done when a skewer inserted into the tallest crack comes out clean, and the top springs back when gently pressed. (Note: The 8×3 inch pan may require an extra 5 minutes).

8. Invert and Cool

Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let it cool completely upside down for at least 2 hours.

9. Unmold

Once completely cool, run a thin offset spatula around the outer wall and the center tube to release the cake. Carefully remove the base. Slice with a serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion.

10. Decorate (Optional):

For a beautiful finishing touch, I highly recommend topping this with my Stabilized Vanilla Chantilly Cream and a few edible flowers before serving!

Banana Chiffon Cake FAQs

Why do I have to cool the cake upside down?

Chiffon cakes are incredibly light because their structure relies on the whipped egg whites. When the cake comes out of the oven, the starches haven’t fully set yet. If you cool it right-side up, the sheer weight of the cake will cause that delicate, airy crumb to compress and collapse. Cooling it upside down allows gravity to keep the crumb stretched and tall until it is completely stable.

Can I bake this in a regular round cake pan without a hole in the middle?

Technically, yes, but you won’t get the same height or texture. The center tube in a chiffon or angel food pan actually conducts heat directly into the middle of the batter. This ensures the center bakes and sets at the same rate as the edges. Without the tube, the edges will overcook before the center is done, and the middle is prone to sinking.

What is the difference between chiffon cake and angel cake?

While they look similar and are often baked in the same type of tube pan, their ingredients create entirely different textures. Angel food cake is completely fat-free—it uses only whipped egg whites and contains no egg yolks or oil. This gives it a purely white, spongy, and sometimes slightly chewy texture. Chiffon cake uses both whipped egg whites and the yolks, plus a liquid fat (like the sesame oil used here). This addition of yolks and oil makes chiffon cake much richer in flavor and incredibly tender, soft, and moist, while still retaining that sky-high, airy lift.

Can I make this recipe gluten-free?

Yes! I actually bake this with rice flour instead of pastry flour quite often. You can swap it 1:1 for the pastry flour. Because rice flour doesn’t develop gluten, the resulting cake is exceptionally tender and has a wonderful, slightly bouncy texture that pairs perfectly with the banana.