Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Happy Birthday to me!! Yes, it's my Birthday today and I wanted to share this special occasion cake with you.

I've jumped the gun and gone ahead and baked one that I came across in a new book I have.

It's all right family, another one for the celebration day will be quite in order. I am okay with the delayed get together as long as I can have my cake and another on the day.

This cake is a chocolate chiffon cake and is quite easy to make. It's just like any other chocolate cake except it's probably a little more daring and has that WOW factor if you were making it for that someone special in your life. I simply love making "Occasion" cakes, as I've shown you previously with the pig cup cakes I made for my son Master M.

It's always nice when someone makes you something out of the ordinary for that special day....speaking of which, for my last birthday, Mum and B made me an amazing chocolate cake (you have probably worked out I'm a chocolate kind of girl). They baked a cake called "Brooklyn Blackout Cake" from a book called "the Hummingbird Bakery" (a definite must have book). It also has 3 layers and in between each was a beautiful chocolate custard.............devine. Maybe I can persuade Queen Mother of M and B to maybe make it again just for my lovely followers.

Back to the cake on hand......this cake just grew and grew and grew in the oven!!! I was worried it was going to end up on the ceiling of the oven it was so big. There is no butter at all in the recipe however, it does have seven eggs, (yes seven!). I think it really looks the part with the walnut praline that decorates the edge of the cake and tastes even better! Well worth the effort.

You will need:
1/2 cup (50g) cocoa powder
3/4 cup (180ml) boiling water
2 cups (300g) self-raising flour
1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar
7 eggs, separated
1/2 cup (125ml) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
walnut praline
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1/2 cup (50g) walnuts
60g dark eating chocolate
brandied butter cream
190g (6 ounces) butter, softened
3 cups (480g) icing sugar
1/4 cup (25g) cocoa powder
1/4 cup (60ml) brandy

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease deep 22cm (9 inch) round cake pan, line base and side with baking paper.

2. Blend cocoa with the water in a small bowl, cool. Sift flour and sugar into large bowl, add cocoa mixture, egg yolks, oil and extract. Beat with electric mixer until smooth and mixture has changed to a paler colour.

3. Beat egg whites in a large bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form, fold in cocoa mixture, in four batches.

4. Pour mixture into pan, bake about 1 hour. Stand cake 5 min before turning, top-side up onto a wire rack to cool.

5. Meanwhile, make walnut praline.
For the praline, place the sugar in a heavy-based frying pan, cook over heat, without stirring, until sugar is melted and golden brown.

Add nuts, pour onto a lined oven tray. Cool. Blend or process praline with chocolate until finely chopped.

Brandied butter cream: Beat the butter in a small bowl with electric mixer until as white as possible. Beat in sifted icing sugar and cocoa, then brandy. If you don't want to use the brandy just add 1/4 cup of milk instead.

6. Split cold cake into three layers, sandwich layers with some of the butter cream. Spread cake evenly with remaining butter cream and then decorate with walnut praline.

Yum......can hardly wait to see what they have made me! (hint, hint) M x