This Thanksgiving, our contribution to the feast was a pineapple chiffon cake. Chiffon is the French word for “cloth” and the cake’s name derives from its light and airy texture. After testing over 400 different recipes, the cake’s aptly named inventor, Harry Baker, discovered the magic formula by replacing butter with vegetable oil. He called the addition of vegetable oil, “a sixth sense, something cosmic.” Mr. Baker held tightly to that secret for 20 years before selling the recipe to General Mills in 1947. Ever-the-salesman, General Mills debuted the recipe with the moniker, “The first really new cake in 100 years.”