Holiday Almanac December 6: Chocolate Chiffon Cake

For more information on the Holiday Almanac, go here. Or to see what I've been up to on past Holiday Almanac days, check out this page.

Today's task is meant to be 'bake a chiffon cake' from a cake mix, but since chiffon cake mix is not a thing (at least not in the UK), I figured I'd make one from a recipe in the box. But the only one I could find was for a chocolate chiffon cake, so here we are.

I don't know that I've ever had a chiffon cake before this, and I don't know that I actually know what defines a chiffon cake now... it's just a light cake, I guess? Anyway, if you're going to do the 'slice, butter and toast' method of serving a chiffon cake, then I recommend using a non-chocolate recipe as doing it with chocolate cake was just kind of strange. But the cake itself was great, though kind of boring without frosting.

Basically, if you're into cake but not into frosting, then this is the holiday treat for you. Make this 'to welcome company' as the almanac suggests, or just because it sounds delicious... either way, you'll come out on top. And since you don't have to wait for this one to cool before you frost it, you'll save time along the way!

The verdict:

3 spoons out of five. My favourite part about cake is the frosting, so this just wasn't the cake for me.

The recipe:

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

the directions:

Preheat oven to 176C/350F and line a large loaf pan with paper.
Sift flour, soda, salt, and 1 cup sugar.
Add oil and ½ c buttermilk.
Beat 1 minute.
Add remaining buttermilk, egg yolks, and cooled chocolate.
Beat 1 minute longer.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
Gradually beat in remaining ½ c sugar.
Fold into batter, then pour into prepared loaf pan.
Bake 25-30 minutes, then slice, spread the slices with butter, and toast under the broiler for an additional minute or two until crispy on the edges.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Serve immediately.

the ingredients:

1 ¾ c cake flour
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ c sugar, divided
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 c buttermilk, divided
2 eggs, separated
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
Butter for serving
Powdered sugar for sprinkling