Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Before You Start...

1. Gather all the ingredients. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
2. Preheat the oven to 340ºF (170ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the baking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). You will also need a 20-cm (8-inch) chiffon cake pan. If you have a different size pan, read my chiffon cake post to adjust the ingredients as well as the blog post of this recipe for the cocoa amount. Please see my Notes at the end of this recipe for additional details on ingredients and techniques.

To Mix the Batter

1. In a bowl, combine ⅔ cup cake flour, 1¼ tsp baking powder, and ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder and mix well with a fork or whisk. Set aside these dry ingredients.
2. Separate 5 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) into yolks and whites. Keep the egg whites in a stand mixer bowl and the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl.
3. Refrigerate or freeze the bowl with the egg whites for 15 minutes so both the bowl and egg whites are cold. (It’s okay if the egg whites are partially frozen). Tip: In Japan, we chill the egg whites to make smooth, fine-textured meringue and do not use cream of tartar.
4. Now, start mixing the batter. First, beat the egg yolks with a hand whisk (or stand mixer).
5. Add half of the ⅔ cup granulated sugar. Whisk vigorously until it’s a creamy pale yellow color.
6. Add ¼ cup neutral oil and beat with a whisk to combine.
7. Add 95 ml whole milk or water (⅓ cup + 1½ Tbsp) and 1 tsp vanilla extract and combine well.
8. Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift half of the dry ingredients into the bowl with the egg mixture. Using a hand whisk, mix well to combine.
9. Sift the rest of the dry ingredients into the bowl and whisk by hand until just combined; do not overmix. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter. Set aside while you beat the meringue.

To Make the Meringue

1. Take out the bowl of egg whites from the refrigerator or freezer. Set the bowl on the stand mixer with a whisk attachment (I used the KitchenAid Professional Series).
2. Start whipping the egg whites on medium speed (Speed 5) until the egg whites are bubbly, opaque, and foamy.
3. Gradually add the remaining half of the granulated sugar in small increments while whisking. Once you add all the sugar, increase to a higher speed (Speed 8) and beat vigorously until stiff peaks form (see the next step for how to check). Tip: I usually pause beating when the egg whites are almost done. Take off the whisk attachment from the mixer and use it to hand-mix the looser egg whites near the bowl‘s edge into the stiffer whites near the center until it‘s all homogenous in texture. Then, put the whisk back on and continue beating.
4. To check for stiff peaks, pull up your whisk. The egg whites in the bowl or on the whisk should be firm enough to hold a peak, pointing straight up (or maybe a little bit folding over just at the very tips). By this time, the meringue should have a glossy texture, too. If you overbeat the meringue, it will become very stiff and grainy and won‘t incorporate into the batter at all.

To Fold In the Meringue

1. Using a hand whisk, take one-quarter of the meringue from the bowl and add it to the batter. Whisk well by hand to combine until homogenous.
2. Take one-third of the meringue left in the bowl and this time, gently fold it into the batter without deflating the air bubbles in the meringue and batter.
3. Take another third and repeat the gentle folding process.
4. Take the final third and gently fold it in. Make sure to thoroughly mix without deflating the air bubbles.
5. The final batter should fall in ribbons when you lift the whisk. The image to the left below shows you what the ribbon stage looks like. Lastly, switch to a spatula and fold the batter one last time, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there is no chocolate accumulation.

To Bake

1. Prepare an ungreased 20-cm (8-inch) chiffon cake pan. From 6–8 inch high, pour the batter into the pan at just one spot to prevent air bubbles from forming. While holding the removable base in place, gently tap the cake pan on the work surface to release any air pockets in the batter.
2. Run a wooden skewer through the batter to release any remaining air pockets. Put the cake pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 340ºF (170ºC) for 35–40 minutes (40 minutes for my oven).
3. To check that it‘s done baking, insert a wooden skewer into the middle of the cake. If the skewer comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed, it‘s done. Tip: If the top of the cake gets dark too quickly, cover the top loosely with aluminum foil to prevent burning. (The cake may be too close to the heat source.)
4. Remove the cake pan from the oven and gently drop the pan onto the work surface to shock the cake. This stops the cake from shrinking.
5. Prepare a bottle with a long neck, such as a glass wine bottle. Invert the center tube of the cake pan onto the bottle‘s neck and let the cake cool completely in its pan. Cooling the cake upside down helps it stretch downward and maintain its loft.
6. Once the cake is completely cool, run a long offset spatula around the outer edge of the pan and a small offset spatula around the inner tube. Tip: I used to use a knife, but the tip of the knife tends to poke the cake while moving around, so I switched to offset spatulas.
7. Gently take out the removable base and cake from the outer pan. Then, run the offset spatula along the bottom of the cake to release it from the base.
8. Invert the cake with the removable base onto a plate or cake stand. The cake will slide off the inner tube. Chiffon cake is served “upside down” with the flat bottom on top.

To Serve

1. Dust the top of the cake with 1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar and decorate with raspberries and mint leaves, if you‘d like. Slice and enjoy.

To Store

1. I strongly recommend consuming the cake sooner for the best freshness. However, you can keep the cake covered on a plate or stand at room temperature in a cooler place for 1–2 days. To keep it longer, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap or put in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 2 weeks.