Cake:
Preheat
the oven to 190 C.
Put the
egg whites in bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy.
Add the
cream of tartar and the 7.5ml baking powder and continue to beat until the
whites form stiff peaks.
Set aside.
In a
second bowl put the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
Make a well in
the centre of the dry ingredients and add the egg yolks, oil, boiling
water and vanilla essence.
Beat for a minute or two to blend well.
Very gently,
by hand, mix a large spoonful of the beaten egg white into the chocolate
mixture to lighten it and then fold in the rest of the egg white mixture.
Pour into
an ungreased 25.5cm loose-bottomed tube tin, bang the tin sharply on the
counter to deflate any air bubbles and bake, second shelf from the bottom, for
50-55 minutes.
The cake is done when the skewer inserted toward the center
comes out clean.
Immediately remove the cake from the oven, turn the tin upside
down to stand on its legs.
Only
remove cake from tin once it is cooled.
Icing:
Put the
sugar, water, egg whites, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl or the top of
a double boiler and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until the
frosting forms a soft peak that stands straight up if you stop the beaters and
lift them up, about 7 minutes.
Add the coconut extract, and continue beating
for 2 minutes to further thicken the frosting.
Use a
thin metal spatula to spread a thin layer of frosting over the cooled chiffon
cake.
Pile the remainder of the frosting
over the cake and decorate with fresh rose petals.
Miss K is a food café in Greenpoint, Cape Town that makes all sorts of delicious delights. Follow her on twitter.
