Chocolate Chiffon Cream Cake

A tender yet rich cake with a delicate cream icing - Chocolate at its lightest!

This cake was my choice for my birthday cakes as a child. Chocolate was a given - the cake could vary from Angel food type to heavier pound cake. But the frosting? In our home we call the typical, grocery store bakery, American buttercream, “lard frosting”. So sweet and heavy. That is not to say that we don’t like it. In fact, my daughter, Kari, can’t resist and would be delighted to have such a frosted cake thrown in her face, birthday or not, which would force her to lick off the frosting. Regardless, as a child, I only enjoyed a few licks of the standard American buttercream frosting and usually scraped it off to get right to the cake.

But this whipped cream frosting is a different animal - still fatty but an ultimately smooth, non-gritty type. Still sweet, but not cloyingly so and chocolatey? No complaint there. With a texture so light and airy, you’re convinced it must be better for you! A delicious delusion.

Years later, I did overcome my childhood prejudice and wish someone would throw a cake in my face - all buttercreams welcome (American, French, Swiss, Italian and of course, this one!).

Chiffon cake was the cake of choice in this recipe. A chiffon cake, due to oil being used rather than heavier fats such as shortening or butter, is light in texture. Stiff, beaten eggwhites, folded into the batter, add to the light sponge crumb of this cake which goes perfectly with the lightness of the whipped cream frosting.

Chocolate Chiffon Cream Cake

CAKE:

7 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

3/4 cup boiling water

1 3/4 cups cake flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING:

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

pinch of salt

-Let eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes (or place in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes if they are right out of the fridge.) In a small bowl, combine cocoa and water until smooth; cool for 20 minutes. In another medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks, oil and vanilla with an electric beater until mixed well and slightly thickened. Add the dry ingredients along with the cocoa mixture. Beat until well blended.

-In another large, clean and dry bowl and with clean beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form - about 5 - 6 minutes. Gradually and gently fold the stiff whites into the batter.

-Gently spoon batter into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through the batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on lowest rack at 325° for 60-65 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.

-Remove from oven and immediately, run a knife around sides and center tube of pan. Invert cake onto a serving plate and tap gently on the bottom. Leave tube cake pan in place until cake releases from the pan and drops to the serving platter then remove the tube pan. Let cool completely.

FOR CREAM FROSTING:

-Pour cream into a large mixing bowl and lightly whisk in powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Leave the beaters from your mixer in the cream mixture and place the bowl with the cream mixture and beaters into the fridge and chill for 45 minutes. (This helps the cream whip up faster and stiffer.)

-Remove from fridge and whip with the cold beaters in an electric mixer until peaks form, or just until mixture becomes stiff enough to hold softly shaped peaks. Stir in salt and vanilla by hand.

TO ASSEMBLE CAKE:

-Trim the top of the cake so that cake sits level upside down on the cake platter. (The bottom of the cake, as turned out of the tube pan, will become the top of the frosted cake.)

-Spoon the whipped cream frosting onto the top of the cake and frost the sides first, generously covering all the surfaces with about 3/4 inch of frosting. Then frost the top of the cake. With a spatula create, whirls and swirls in the cream frosting. Garnish with fresh flowers. Chill until ready to serve, then slice into 1 1/2-inch servings. Serves 10 - 12.

PERSNICKETY NOTES:

**Easy substitute for cake flour: Remove two tablespoons of flour from one cup of all-purpose flour and stir in two tablespoons of cornstarch or arrowroot powder to equal one cup of cake flour.

**Be careful when folding egg whites into batter mixtures. Easy does it! It takes patience to slowly and gently lift the batter through the egg whites and vice versa. We all want to beat it together and be done with it. But this process is what keeps the cake light and airy. Don’t feel as though the whites need to be completely incorporated into the batter. It’s okay to leave a few streaks of white in the completed batter. Slow and easy!

Frost cooled cake generously with Chocolate cream.

Decorate with swirls and twirls in the chocolate cream and garnish with fresh flowers or chocolate curls.

Intensely chocolatey yet light and creamy at the same time. A winner of a cake!

Make this easy cake and “eat it too”!