Marble Chiffon Cake

A chiffon cake is, by definition, a cake that uses many eggs for leavening and oil as the fat. The result is a moist cake that is not exceedingly rich with a distinct crumb. Adding Scharffen Berger Chocolate for marbling offers a delicious and stunning presentation.

The cake is baked in an ungreased tube pan. After the cake is made, you cool it by turning it upside down. If the cake is fully cooked, it will not fall out of the pan.

Ingredients

2 ounces Scharffen Berger 99% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate
1-3/4 cups sugar (1/4 for the chocolate mixture)
1 cup water (1/4 cup for the chocolate mixture)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups unbleached white flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
7 large eggs, separated
½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Method

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup water and ¼ teaspoon baking soda.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the flour, 1-1/2 cups sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center and add the vegetable oil, egg yolks, ¾ cup water and the vanilla. Beat together until smooth.

Mix 1-1/2 cups of batter with the chocolate mixture until well combined.

In a separate, very clean bowl with the wire attachment of the electric mixture, beat the egg whites combined with the cream of tartar until they hold very stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the white batter mixture.

Pour the white batter into an ungreased 16-cup tube pan. Add the chocolate mixture on top of the white mixture. You may want to use a knife to swirl the chocolate in.

Bake for 1 hour. Test by inserting a cake tester to make sure the cake is thoroughly cooked through. If the tester comes out wet with some batter attached, bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes until done.

Immediately after removing from the oven, turn upside down if the pan has feet. If the pan does not have feet, place the tube hole on a wine bottle to cool.

When completely cool, invert the cake right side up. Often tube pans have removable bottoms. If your pan does, use a knife to loosen the sides and remove from the pan, leaving the bottom and the tube in place. It is also possible to carefully loosen the bottom of the cake and the center attached to the tube to remove the cake completely from the pan before serving.