Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Chocolate Chiffon Cake is a soft and light dessert, a delicious variation of the classic Chiffon Cake. Here’s how to prepare it:

Ingredients

• 190 g of cake flour
• 30 g of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 300 g of granulated sugar
• 1 packet of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 120 ml of vegetable oil
• 6 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
• 180 ml of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar (or a few drops of lemon juice to stabilize the egg whites)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 160 °C.
2. In a large bowl, mix the sifted flour, cocoa, half the sugar (150 g), baking powder, and salt.
3. Add the egg yolks, oil, water, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth, lump-free mixture.
4. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites while gradually adding the rest of the sugar (150 g) and the cream of tartar until you have a shiny and firm mixture.
5. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture, trying to keep as much air as possible.
6. Pour the batter into a chiffon cake pan (not buttered or floured, to allow the cake to “climb” the sides during baking).
7. Bake for about 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
8. Once cooked, immediately invert the pan onto a wire rack and let cool completely before unmolding the cake.
9. To unmold, gently run a spatula along the edges of the pan, including around the central tube, then lift the cake from the bottom.

You can serve the Chocolate Chiffon Cake as it is, or decorate it with a dusting of powdered sugar, perhaps accompanied by an English cream or a chocolate sauce for an even more intense flavor.

Curiosity

The Chiffon Cake has a fascinating history: it was invented in the 1920s in the United States by Harry Baker, an insurance salesman who decided to keep the recipe secret for over twenty years. The uniqueness of this cake lies in its airy and light structure, thanks to the technique of incorporating the beaten egg whites into the mixture. Baker finally sold the recipe to General Mills in 1947, who made it famous throughout the country via Betty Crocker.