Here we start off with some tips for separating the eggs for the chiffon cake portion.
You can separate the eggs as soon as you take them out of the refrigerator, as they’re easier to separate cold.
The whites though, because they whip up better at room temperature, should be loosely covered and allowed to warm up to room temperature before using in the recipe.
Using one of these egg separators makes things go much faster and easier.
You can do the passing back and forth of the egg yolk from one half shell of a cracked egg to the other half shell, but you risk knicking the yolk and having it leak into the whites. Any traces of yolk or other fat in the egg whites will prevent them from whipping up.
Some people like to just use a clean hand to cup the egg yolk while straining the whites through their fingers, but I like to use a separator to prevent the oils from my hands from getting on the egg whites.
Place the egg separator directly onto your measuring cup, crack the egg, and open it onto the separator.
Jiggle the separator a bit to get the egg whites to separate from the yolk and start going down through the holes. I found that I had to use a butter knife to actually cut the egg white off under the separator. You could also use clean fingers and pinch the egg whites off underneath.
To make things go even faster, you can get a separator that can do three eggs at a time.
It’s hard to see, but this one has a clip on the right hand side that you can clip onto the edge of a cup or bowl for stability.
To save the egg yolks, cover them with some water and store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Store them promptly in the refrigerator until they are ready to use.
Some of them can be used for the custard fillings and frostings.
I frequently use the other egg yolks to mix up some cookie dough, then freeze the dough for cookies to bake later.
