Chocolate Chiffon Cake

 

A very basic simple chocolate chiffon cake adapted from Florence [Do What I Like].  The original recipe is baked in baking tin as a cake base for Black Forest Cake.  As I like baking 'no frills' cakes, I bake it using the chiffon pan.  I could remove this cake with bare hand.  But I don't know the reason why it cracked.

Verdict - spongy, soft, moist and fragrant chocolate chiffon cake.  The texture is very good.

 

 

Ingredients

[use 19 cm/7 1/2 inch tube pan]

4 egg yolks

40 gm castor sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp rum or kirsch [I used Rum]

25 gm cocoa powder

85 ml warm corn oil

135 ml warm water

125 gm cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda*

4 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

50 gm castor sugar

* Notes - baking soda is alkaline in nature.  It is used in most chocolate cakes to act as a leavening agent and to neutralise acidic nature of chocolate/cocoa powder and to give it a darker colour.

 

 

1. Mix egg yolks, sugar, salt and rum with a hand whisk until well combined.
2. Stir cocoa powder in warmed corn oil until dissolved and pour into [1].  Drizzle in warm water and use whisk to combine well.
3. Sieve flour, baking soda and baking powder into egg yolk mixture.  Stir until well combined.  Set aside.
4. In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy, add in cream of tartar, continue to whisk egg whites.  Gradually add in sugar in 3 batches and whisk until stiff peaks formed.
5. Pour 1/2 meringue into egg yolk mixture and blend well.
6. Pour batter into remaining egg whites and fold until well mixed.
7. Pour into chiffon pan, shake a little to smooth the cake surface. Tap pan several times on table top to release trapped air bubbles.
8. Bake in preheated oven at 170 degrees C [lowest rack for small oven] for 40-45 minutes [I baked mine for 40 minutes].
9. Remove and invert pan to cool before dislodging.  Slice to serve.
   
    
    
    
    

I'm  submitting this post to Best Recipes September Event - Chocolate hosted by Fion of Xuan Hom's Mom Kitchen Diary.

Pandan Chiffon Cake [Cooked Dough/(烫面)Tang Mian]

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

TO 

ALL MALAYSIANS

This my second Pandan Chiffon Cake using cooked dough/(烫面)Tang Mian method with another recipe from Happy Flour. I used 23 cm tube pan instead of my usual 19 cm pan. The cake rose and crack just a little. I also tried Phong Hong's method of mixing the egg yolk mixture and meringue with bare hand. Surprisingly it is very easy to get both mixtures well combined.  This cake was removed from the pan with bare hands.

Verdict - cake is very fragrant, soft, spongy, moist and tasty.
Recipe source - Happy Flour with slight modification
Ingredients
[use non-greased 21 cm tube pan]
5 egg yolks [medium size]
30 gm pandan juice *
50 gm butter
1/4 tsp salt

60 ml coconut milk
90 gm cake flour - sifted
5 egg white
1/3 tsp cream of tartar
80 gm caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.   I suggest to bake at 160 degrees C.
2. Mix egg yolks and pandan juice together, set aside. 
3. Pour coconut milk, salt and butter in a sauce pan, boil over low fire till butter melted about 60-65 degrees C (when few bubbles started to appear on the surface). 
4. Remove from fire, add in flour and stir till it form a soft dough. 
5. Slowly add in egg yolks mixture, whisk till smooth batter and set aside. 
6. Use a cake mixer, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar till frothy. 
7. Gradually add in sugar and whisk till stiff peaks form. 
8. Fold in 1/4 of the meringue into the egg yolk batter until combined [By now the egg yolk batter should be lukewarm]. 
9. Then fold in the rest of the meringue in two portions until well combined [I used bare hand to mix the batters]. 
10. Pour batter into a 23 cm tube pan, smooth the surface and tap the pan lightly on table top to release trapped air bubbles. 
11. Place pan into a preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.  
12. Remove from oven, invert cake onto table top and leave it cool. 

Notes:

* Pandan juice: Blend 10-12 blades of pandan leaves with 100 ml of water, squeeze out the liquid from the puree. Pour the pandan juice into a bottle, cover and chill in the fridge overnight for the residue to settle down. Discard the clear liquid, use the residue left at the bottom of the liquid. This concentrate part of pandan juice give cakes a nice and light fragrant of pandan leaf.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe

Golden Cheese Chiffon Cake [Cooked Dough/Tang Mian Method]

I had baked this chiffon Golden Cheese Chiffon Cake [Cooked Dough/Tang Mian] 烫面黄金芝士戚风蛋糕 twice after seeing Jess [Bakericious] and Jeannie's [Baking Diary] post which looks so soft, spongy and golden in colour. The first tasted good but I'm not too happy with the texture. I thought it's a failed attempt. It's later when my SIL told me the cake is good, I decided to bake it again for the purpose of taking some photos of this cake to share with readers here.

Verdict - cheesy aroma, savoury sweet and the cake is soft and spongy. Nice golden colour too.
Recipe Source - [Bakericious] and [Baking Diary]

Ingredients
[use ungreased 19 cm or 7 inch tube pan]
60 ml milk
60 ml corn oil
50 gm cake flour 

12 gm corn flour [I used 1 tbsp]
20 gm cheese powder
4 egg yolks [I used size A eggs] 

4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar or 1 tsp lemon juice
60 gm caster sugar

1. Sieve cake flour, cornflour and cheese powder together in a bowl.
2. Separate egg yolks and egg whites into two separate bowls.
3. Pour oil and milk into a saucepan.  Heat up over low fire until you see small bubbles at the sides [very quick].  Remove from heat.
4. Immediately add in sifted flours.  Quickly stir to mix well and form into a soft dough.
5. Slowly add in the egg yolks in batches and whisk well after each addition until it becomes a smooth batter.  Set aside.
6. Whisk egg whites until frothy, add in cream of tartar or lemon juice.  Gradually add in the sugar in 3 batches.  Whisk until approaching stiff peaks [means meringue stand up straight with a little curve at the tip] or stiff peaks [this stage is a bit difficult to fold with egg yolk mixture].
7. Combine 1/3 of the meringue into egg yolk mixture.  Use a hand whisk to mix well until the batter is creamy.
8. Fold in 1/2 meringue and use a spatula, gently fold with egg yolk batter until well combined.  Fold in the balance and gently fold till well combined.
9. Pour batter into tube pan from a considerably height, lightly shake it from left to right to level the batter, then gently tap pan on table top to release air bubbles.
10. Bake in preheated oven at 150 degrees C on lowest rack for 40-45 minutes.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe

Pumpkin Rice Flour Chiffon Cake

This chiffon cake was inspired by the numerous recipes shared by many food bloggers.  With the successful baking of chiffon cakes using rice flour, I tried this one with pumpkin.  The cake rose beautifully and to prevent the top from been too browned, I baked the cake with bottom heat for the first 20 minutes then with both top/bottom heat for the remaining 20 minutes. 
Verdict - soft, spongy, fluffy and moist chiffon.  Has a nice pumpkin colour.  This is a good cake and it went to my mum's place.  I got to taste it there and didn't manage to take more photos of the cut cake as people are waiting to eat them.

For the mixing of egg yolk batter, I changed the method too - by first mixing all the ingredients [flour, salt, puree, liquid and oil] until well combined then beat in the egg yolks one after another.

Ingredients For Egg Yolk Mixture

5 egg yolks [I used size A eggs]

15 gm castor sugar [I used 1 tbsp]

40 ml corn oil

90 gm pumpkin puree

2 tbsp milk

60 gm cake flour [I used superfine flour]

30 gm rice flour
1/2 tsp  cinnamon powder [optional]

1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients For Egg White Mixture

5 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar [optional]

45 gm castor sugar [I used 3 tbsp]

1. Sieve both flours together and mix in the salt.
2. Separate egg yolks and whites into 2 separate bowls.
3. Mix flours, salt, sugar, pumpkin puree, milk and oil until well combined.
4. Add in egg yolks one after another until creamy.
5. Preheat oven at 160 degrees C for 10 minutes.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy, add in the cream of tartar [if using].    Continue whisking and add in sugar in 3 batches.  Whisk until soft to stiff peaks.
7. Fold lightly 1/3 portion of the egg white into the egg yolk mixture until well combined.    Then mix with the remaining egg white.  Fold until well combined.
8. Pour batter into a 19-20 cm [7 inch] tube pan.   Shake a little to smooth out the batter and tap pan several times on table top to release trapped air.
9. Bake in preheated oven at 160 degrees C for 40 minutes or bake with bottom heat for 20 minutes then both top/bottom heat for remaining 20 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and invert immediately to cool cake before slicing.
11. Use a slim spatula to run around the edge of the pan and around the tube to dislodge cake before slicing cake.
    
    
    

Notes: If using larger eggs [AA size], it is advisable to use a 20-22 cm tube pan.   The actual cake has a nice  pumpkin colour.  The photos were taken in the early morning and the results weren't good.

I'm submitting this post to Bake Along #64 - Chiffon Cakes

 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours