Preparation: bring the milk and egg yolks to room temperature. Leave the egg whites in the refrigerator until it's ready to use. Sift the flour, and then mix with a whisk.

*Tip 1: The reason for mixing the sifted flour with a whisk it to incorporate plenty of air. It's just like sifting it twice, but easier.

*Tip 2: Eggs vary in size, so in order to create the same cake reliably every time, I weigh them.

Put a baking sheet in the oven, and preheat to 340°F/170°C.

*Tip 3: The reason for adding the sugar all at once is to make it absorb as much of the moisture of the egg whites as possible, to create a soft, finely textured and sturdy meringue.

*Tip 4: It takes more time to whisk than adding the sugar in batches, but you can create a very finely textured, high quality meringue this way.

*Tip 5: Cornstarch absorbs the moisture of the egg whites and stabilizes the foamy texture of the meringue.

*Tip 6: Lemon juice and salt also make the meringue finely textured and stable.

*Tip 7: If you beat the meringue for too long so that it forms very stiff peaks, it's hard to incorporate the rest of the ingredients, and you end up losing some of the bubbles.

*Tip 8: There's no need to whisk it until it's pale and thick. You'll lose the incorporated air when you add the oil and milk anyway.

Add the milk, and mix it in also.

*Tip 9: Unlike regular spongecakes, if you beat it very well and develop the gluten in the flour, the cake will be not only be soft, it will be nice and bouncy too.

*Tip 10:The first addition of meringue is a sacrifice, in order to make it easier to incorporate the rest into the batter.

*Tip 11: From the 2nd addition of meringue onwards, work carefully so as not to lose the air bubbles as much as possible.

*Tip 12: Hitting the cake tin onto a hard surface to eliminate air bubbles works for sturdy cake batters, but it doesn't work well for light batters, very creamy batters or batters with added ingredients like chocolate chips.

*Tip 13: With a very light soft batter like this one, even the smallest shock will pop some of the small bubbles, and you may even end up introducing large bubbles.

Put the cake in the oven and bake.

I baked the cake for 27 minutes. The texture is moist and amooth, just like chiffon.

*Tip 14: If you bake it for 30 minutes, check for doneness with a bamboo skewer. If it comes out clean, it's well baked and stable, so you can cover it with whipped cream.

*Tip 15: If you want to add fruits or chestnut cream after covering the cake with whipped cream, bake for 30 minutes at 360°F/180°C. You'll have a firm cake that can withstand all that weight on top.

*Tip 16: This method is useful for ensuring that the cake cooks evenly too, especially when you want a firm texture.

*Tip 17: By taking it out of the oven you are cooking the cake that is just starting to rise, so it's important to work quickly.

*Tip 18: If this seems too difficult or rushed for you, or if you have a difficult batter to deal with such as a thin or very creamy one, just skip this step.

*Tip 19: It's often written that if the skewer comes out clean the cake is done, but this actually means the cake is overdone. The best method is to take it out just before the skewer comes out clean, and to let the cake continue cooking with residual heat.

*Tip 20: If you let it bake for 30 minutes, the skewer will come out clean.

** NOTE: If you're using a 20 cm diameter cake tin, bake for 37 to 40 minutes at 340°F/170°C. It will puff up a lot, so be careful not to let it burn.

*Tip 21: By letting it rest overnight, the flavors will blend together. It's delicious when it's freshly baked, but it may taste too sweet or not sweet enough.

*Tip 22: By resting the cake, the texture will firm up, so it becomes harder to mess up when removing the cake from the tin.

*Tip 23: The reason for using milk even though it's a plain chiffon cake is because the natural sweetness and fragrance of the milk softens the eggy-ness, and makes the cake taste delicious.

*Tip 24: If you are using water, use less than the milk. 10% of the milk volume is fat, which tends to toughen the crumb, so more milk is used than water.

*Tip 25: Castor sugar (sugar or 'baker's sugar') absorbs and retains moisture well, so it mixes well in batters and helps to create a cake that stays moist for a long time.