chocolate chiffon cake--"basic kitchen" version

Mum's birthday was while my parents were visiting. A few days before I asked her, casually (!?), "What's your favourite kind of cake?" Well, my kitchen is lacking a few things to make a proper chocolate chiffon cake, but I was determined to have a try. May I present the "Basic Kitchen" version of chocolate chiffon. (The full equipment recipe can be referred to if you wish!)


We have no saucepans at the moment, so as a result, the rice cooker is getting use at almost every meal. For this cake I used it to melt the chocolate and water together. And my electric mixer is also in the (still enroute) shipment, so Dad's muscle power had to substitute for that. He's such a good sport, especially when I insisted, "But it's Mum's birthday cake!"

Chocolate Chiffon Cake--Basic Kitchen version
Serves 8

115 g dark, semisweet chocolate
1/2 c (125 ml) water
1/2 t salt
1 c (140 g) + 1 t flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t cocoa
5 eggs, separated
2/3 c granulated sugar
1 t vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.
Break the chocolate into square and put with the water and salt into an electric rice cooker. Switch on to "cook" for two minutes, then stir, and switch to "warm" for a few minutes longer until the chocolate is fully melted. Switch off the rice cooker and allow to cool.
In a bowl, mix together 1 c flour and baking powder.
Grease a 24 cm baking tin. In a small bowl, mix together 1 t flour and the cocoa. Use this mixture to flour the tin and discard any extra flour mixture.
Put the egg whites into a bowl and (get a volunteer to) beat by hand for 15 minutes until fluffy, or longer (if your volunteer can stand it) until soft peaks form. Fold in sugar.
When chocolate mixture has cooled, add egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in flour and baking powder mixture until well combined.
Gently fold into egg white mixture.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Let cool and then ice with chocolate frosting.