Chocolate Chiffon Cake with With Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Ingredients :
5 egg yolks
10g caster sugar
40g corn or sunflower oil  
1/8 tsp salt40g cake flour
20g cocoa powder
30g rice flour 在来米粉/粘米粉

70g chocolate milk

5 egg whites
50g caster sugar
a few drop lemon juice or vinegar 


Method :
1. Sift cake flour, cocoa powder and rice flour twice.

2. Mix egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, whisk till sugar has dissolved.
3. Add in oil, salt and chocolate milk and mix well.
4. Sift in flour mixture and whisk well.
5.In another bowl, beat the egg whites and lemon juice/vinegar till frothy. Add in sugar gradually and beat until approaching stiff peaks (meringue stand straight with a little curve at the tip) or till stiff peaks (this stage is a bit difficult to fold with egg yolk mixture). 

6. Use whisk to loosen the egg yolk batter a bit, then take 1/3 of meringue and use a hand whisk to mix well with egg yolk batter.

7. Fold in 1/2 of meringue and use a silicone spatula, gently fold with egg yolk batter till slightly combined. Fold in the balance meringue and gently fold till well combined.8. Pour the batter from a considerable height into cake pan, lightly shake it left and right to level the cake, then gently bang the cake pan on the table top to release air bubbles. 

9. Bake at pre-heated oven at 100C at center rack for 25 mins and 160C for 15-20 mins. (I off the top heat element and on it back during the last 15 mins)

10. Remove the cake pan from oven, drop it from high side to prevent the cake shrink too much during cool process.

11. Turn the cake pan upside down and cool completely before remove from the cake pan. 

Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream :

(A)

250g caster sugar

100g water

(B)

150g egg whites

50g caster sugar

A few drop lemon juice

(C)

500g unsalted butter, cubed

(D)

1 tsp vanilla extract

(E)

150g couverture chocolate, chopped in small pieces, melted 

Method :

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and water to a boil. Boil until syrup reaches 119°C on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage).

With the mixer on high speed, whip the egg whites, slowly add in the 50g caster sugar and whisk till soft peak.

With mixer running, pour down the sugar syrup slowly from the side of bowl into meringue in a steady stream, and beat on high speed until stiff peaks.

After 1 to 2 minutes reduce the mixer speed to medium for 3 to 4 minutes until the meringue is cooled. (use dampen cloth to wrap around the mixing bowl to speed up the cool down).

Add the butter a few cubes at a time. Increase the mixer speed to high for 1 to 2 mins until the butter is fully incorporated. If it looks curdled at any point, keep beating until smooth.

Add in vanilla and beat until smooth. 

Add in melted chocolate and beat until smooth.