The Cake Slice- Cappuccino or Hot Cocoa Chiffon Cake

I've joined another group- The Cake Slice. I love baking cakes, they are probably my favorite thing to bake and decorate and I already owned the cookbook we are baking from, so I thought, why not? We are baking 1 cake a month from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne and for the debut cake- here is Cappuccino Chiffon Cake, or in my case, Hot Cocoa Chiffon Cake. You see, my family and I do not drink coffee, tea or alcoholic beverages, so thanks to Holly over at Phemomenon, who came up with a quick fix for subbing the expresso (she made a hot cocoa mix and told us all about it), we still were able to enjoy this cake. I was able to take this to a get together with some friends and it was a hit. Everyone really liked it. I have made chiffon cakes before, so the prep was easy and overall, I thought this cake was quite easy to prepare. The weekend I made it we had our first snow and the temperatures were in the 30's, so it traveled well and stayed nice and cold.

Go over to the Cake Slice Blogroll and see what all the other bakers did with their Cappucino or Hot Cocoa Chiffon Cakes!

CAPPUCCINO OR HOT COCOA CHIFFON CAKE adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne

Makes an 8-inch triple layer cake

1/4 cup of neutral oil (ie. vegetable, canola, or soybean) I used canola

6 eggs separated

6 tablespoons of freshly brewed espresso cooled to room temperature I used 6 Tbls of this hot cocoa mixture- 2 Tbls high quality cocoa powder+2 Tbls sugar +8 oz hot water (save the rest to make the soaking syrup)

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 and 1/3 cups of cake flour*

1 and 1/2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar

Cocoa powder or cinnamon for dusting

(*The recipe calls for cake flour and if you only have all-purpose flour on hand, you can substitute 3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch.)

Espresso (Hot Cocoa) Syrup

1/3 cup hot freshly brewed espresso ( I used the remainder of my hot cocoa mix and added sugar to taste and 1 tsp rum flavoring)

1/3 cup of sugar

1/3 cup dark rum, such as Meyers*(*if you want to leave out the rum you can use molasses thinned with pineapple juice and flavored with almond extract to equal 1/3 cup. Or use 1 to 2 teaspoons of rum extract flavoring but you'll have less syrup.)

Vanilla Whipped Cream

3 cups of heavy cream

1/3 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper but do not grease.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, egg yolks, espresso (hot cocoa), and vanilla; whisk lightly to blend. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, 1 cup of sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium-low speed until frothy. Raise the mixer to medium high and gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Do not whip to stiff peaks or the cake will shrink upon cooling.

4. Add the espresso(hot cocoa)-egg mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together just until combined. Add one fourth of the egg whites and fold them gently into the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites just until no streaks remain. Divide the batter among the pans.

5. Bake the cakes for 18 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans. Once cooled run a knife around the edge of the pans to release the cakes. Invert onto a wire rack and remove the parchment papers.

6. To assemble the cake, place one cake layer flat side up on a cake stand or platter. Soak the cake with 1/3 cup of the espresso (hot cocoa) syrup. Spread 1 and 1/3 cups of whipped cream evenly over the top of the cake. Repeat with the next layer the same steps. Finally, top with the third layer. Soak with syrup and frost the top and sides of the cake with the whipped cream.

7. To decorate the cake smooth out the whipped cream as much as possible on top. Lay a paper doily on top and sift cocoa powder or cinnamon over the doily to reveal a lacy detail.

Espresso (Hot Cocoa) Syrup-makes 1 cup

In a bowl, stir together the espresso (hot cocoa) and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the rum extract and let cool to room temperature.

Vanilla Whipped Cream-makes 6 cups

Place the cream, sugar, and vanilla in large chilled mixing bowl with chilled beaters. With the whip attachment, beat the cream until stiff peaks form.