Being In September and Choc Chiffon Cake

Oh, how time flies.... it is September already, and it almost at the end. I won't let September pass without any of my post. Whole month of September has been sooo hectic... Raya, wedding cake orders, exams, assignments, school's tasks, family arriving... and suddenly bammm.... September almost saying good bye. 

I haven't even make an entry about my Lebaran, Happy Eid Mubarak to those who celebrate Ied Fitr. May Allah accepts our good deeds during Ramadhan.  (There are two new entries published together with this entry)

September is equally flower in my thought... Yesss... it's Spring in here...  it's time of intense blooming of colourful ranunculus... oh I love this flower, my last year bulbs which I left in the ground are now at pose. The house beautified with vivid colours cut of its bloom. They stayed fresh in vase for a week or two. 

Anyway... as most of you who celebrate festival of Ied Fitr ... I enjoyed  bake-a-lot of kue kering (cookies). In fact I enjoyed more than last years (that is time when I was away from this blog). I have published my Lebaran's cookies Suji and Melt-in-mouth German cookies and will publish more cookies recipe after this post. This chiffon cake was also part of my baking frenzy. It has deeply chocolate flavour as cocoa is mixed with hot water. The same method uses in Devil food cake.

  

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Original Recipe by Primarasa, Modified by Riana
and translated by her

Ingredients:

50 g cocoa powder
175 ml hot water
A pinch of salt
175 g flour, sifted
350 caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
85 ml vegetable oil
400 g egg whites [from +/- 10 eggs @ 70 g (weighed with the shells)]
10 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla powder/extract (optional)

Garnish:
Powdered sugar

Instruction:

1. Preheat oven at 180 degree Celcius. Prepare 25 cm chiffon pan, splash the inner part with water. Dissolve cocoa powder and salt in hot water, whisk until smooth, set aside.
2. Mix together: flour, 2 Tbsp of caster sugar, baking soda and baking powder, mix well. Make a hole in the center, pour vegetable oil, egg yolks, chocolate mixture and vanilla into the hole. Whisk until smooth, set aside.
3. Beat egg whites with electric mixer at medium speed until frothy, gradually beat in caster sugar, continue beating until soft peak.
4. Using spatula, gently fold in egg whites to flour-egg batter until well blended.
5. Pour the batter into pan, tap the pan 2-3 times to let out any excessive bubbles. Bake for about 75 minutes (do the skewer test). Take out from oven, turn the pan upside down and let it cool in this position (about 1 1/2 hour).
6. Run a long knife along the side of the pan. Turn the cake onto a rack. Run the knife along the bottom of the pan, take off the bottom pan. Turn the cake onto a serving plate or cake board. Garnish as you like.

Note:

• Use good quality chocolate. Sometimes a chocolate cake doesn’t give us that ‘kicking’ sensation not because it needs more chocolate, but because the chocolate is not good enough. Choose the one that has wonderful smell and deep flavor.
• If you’re new to dealing with egg whites, search the tips on the internet. It could be tricky, but it’s not that difficult.
• If the 400 g egg whites give you more than 10 yolks, use the extra yolks in the batter anyway. Whisk it into flour-egg batter.