Efrat's Notebook

Marble Leikach Chiffon Cake Draft

A tall, airy leikach with oil and orange zest and ribbons of chocolate I stir in only two or three times for a marbled look.

  • Prep35 min
  • Cook1 hr
  • Total1 hr 35 min
  • KashrutDairy

What you need

Amount:×1

Chocolate mixture

Cake

How I make it

Chocolate mixture

  1. Warm the water, sugar, cocoa and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth.

  2. Take off the heat and let cool slightly.

Cake batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 320-340°F (160-170°C), preferably top and bottom heat, no convection.

  2. In the largest bowl you have, whisk the yolks with the vanilla sugar, oil, 1 cup water and orange zest.

  3. Sift in the flour and baking powder and whisk hard for about a minute until uniform (it will be very thick, and that's fine).

  4. In a stand mixer, whip the whites on medium-low (4-5 out of 10, no higher) for about 2 minutes, until white and soft.

  5. With the mixer running, add the 1¼ cups sugar one spoonful at a time, counting slowly to 10 between additions.

  6. Raise the speed to high and whip 3 more minutes after all the sugar is in, until very glossy, airy and stable (but still creamy).

  7. Whisk 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture until uniform.

  8. Gently fold in the rest of the whites with a whisk or spatula.

Marbling and baking

  1. Pour the lukewarm chocolate mixture into the batter and stir with a spoon just two or three times, from top to bottom.

  2. Pour into an ungreased tube pan (Israeli sir pele or angel food cake pan).

  3. Give the pan a gentle shake to level the batter.

  4. Set the pan on a baking sheet (not a rack) on the lower third of the hot oven.

  5. Bake for about 1 hour without opening the oven, until golden, springy, and a skewer in the center comes out free of crumbs (a little chocolate on it is fine).

  6. Remove from the oven and let cool.

  7. Run a knife around the sides to release the cake and turn it out onto a serving plate. Slice and serve.

What I've learned

  • It doesn't look pretty after that brief stir, but the marbling forms as you pour it into the pan.
  • I don't grease the pan; otherwise the cake sinks as it cools.
  • Bake it all the way through, or the cake will collapse as it cools.
  • The cake loses a little height as it cools, and that's fine; it should settle back to the height it had before baking.
  • I keep it covered with plastic wrap or under a cake dome at room temperature.

Source: ChefEf (chefef.com)