Name: John Whaite's Chocolate chiffon cake with salted caramel butter cream
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: Cuts into 12 slices
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 125ml sunflower oil plus extra for greasing; 7 large eggs separated; 2 tsp vanilla bean paste; 375g golden caster sugar; 50g cocoa powder; 300g plain flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 250g light soft brown sugar; 150ml double cream; 140g butter softened; ½ tsp salt; 250ml double cream; 250g dark chocolate finely chopped or grated; sea salt crystals, to decorate

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John Whaite's Chocolate chiffon cake with salted caramel butter cream

John Whaite's Chocolate chiffon cake with salted caramel butter cream

John Whaite

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Cuts into 12 slices

More effort

Prep: 45 mins

Cook: 1 hr and 15 mins

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.25 ratingsRate

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Give this celebration sponge a showstopping finish by piping spikes of ganache on top and filling with salted caramel butter icing

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

125ml sunflower oil

plus extra for greasing
7 large eggs

separated
2 tsp vanilla

bean paste
375g golden caster sugar
50g cocoa powder
300g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the salted caramel icing

250g light soft brown sugar
150ml double cream
140g butter

softened
½ tsp salt

For the ganache

250ml double cream
250g dark chocolate

finely chopped or grated
sea salt

crystals, to decorate

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Nutrition: per slice

kcal795
fat48g
saturates24g
carbs82g
sugars65g
fibre2g
protein8g
salt0.8g

low

Method

step 1

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a 25cm round deep cake tin with baking parchment. In a large bowl, mix the oil, egg yolks, vanilla paste, caster sugar and 200ml water until well combined. Sift in the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.
step 2

Sift in the flour, bicarb and 1 tsp salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into the batter with a large metal spoon and mix until everything is well combined.
step 3

Gently pour the mixture into your cake tin, then bang it on the work surface twice to expel any large air pockets. Bake for 1 hr 10 mins or until the cake springs back when gently prodded and an inserted skewer comes out clean. (Cover with foil after 1 hr if the cake starts to get too dark.) Remove from the oven, cool in the tin for 10 mins, then transfer to a large wire rack and peel off the parchment. Leave until the cake is completely cool.
step 4

Make the salted caramel icing while the cake bakes. Heat the brown sugar, ½ tsp salt and cream in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Bubble for a few mins, then leave to cool completely. Beat the butter until smooth, pour in the cooled cream mixture and continue mixing until softly whipped. Chill until needed.
step 5

To make the ganache, heat the cream until just boiling. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Leave to stand for a few mins until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth sauce consistency. Leave to cool at room temperature until the ganache is a pipeable thickness, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. To finish the cake, slice in half and fill with the salted caramel buttercream. Pipe tall spikes of chocolate ganache on top and decorate with the sea salt crystals. Will keep for up to 2 days in a cool place.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, April 2013

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A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.25 ratings

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