By: Valerie
Cakes and Cupcakes, , ,

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Yield: one 10-inch cake
Recipe: 154/200
“Back to Baking”, pp. 154

    This past week I was craving a chocolate dessert so decided to finally make this chocolate chiffon cake that I had been spotting in the cookbook for a while. I baked this cake in an angel food cake pan and I find that it immediately makes a cake look more elegant somehow, which is always nice for presentation purposes. This recipe is a bit more complex than your standard cake but the directions are neatly explained.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ¾ cups cake and pastry flour
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 5 tablespoons Dutch process (alkalized) cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup coffee, at room temperature
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 5 eggs, at room temperature, separated
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ¼ cup sugar

    Once I unmolded the cake after about 47 minutes of baking, I quickly realized that I had not adequately mixed the egg whites in stiff peak form with the chocolate mixture. There were streaks of chocolate throughout the cake which of course should be homogenous in appearance, and I rather think that the texture was not quite what it should have been. I expected this chiffon cake to be a bit more dense-looking than what I obtained, which again might simply be due to not mixing the batter sufficiently. However, even with all this, the cake turned out fabulous. It is not too sweet which is a delight, with a nice chocolate flavour enhanced by a coffee undertone. It feels airy and light to eat, which is different than your typical cake and very enjoyable.

    I made the Chantilly cream to go with it along with the raspberry compote that I opted to do at the last minute, and I am so glad that I did. The Chantilly cream was so light and airy and goes very well with this chocolate chiffon cake, and the sweet raspberry compote just ties everything together. I always thought that chocolate and raspberry makes for one of the best combos of all time, and this dessert only reinforced my position. This cake and its accoutrements is a great dessert to make and enjoy for any occasion really, especially if for people that appreciate more delicate and less sweet desserts.

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  2. In a large mixer or using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, sift together the flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt.
  3. Add the coffee, oil and egg yolks, and whip on high speed until the mixture is thick and glossy. It will look almost like a chocolate mousse.
  4. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until they are foamy, then slowly pour in the sugar and continue whipping until the whites hold a stiff peak when the beaters are lifted.
  5. Using a spatula, gently fold a third of the whites into the chocolate batter, then fold in the remaining two thirds.
  6. Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch angel food cake or tube pan.
    • Note: The batter will be fluid.
  7. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake upside down. To remove the cake from the pan, run a palette or butter knife around the inside edge of the pan and tap the cake onto a plate. Serve the cake on its own, or with fresh berries, raspberry compote and Chantilly cream.

Happy baking!
Valerie