For Passover, my family has always baked chiffon cakes. Every year we’d bake dozens and dozens of chocolate chip chiffon and lemon chiffon cakes. They’re great for desserts and can be transformed into other things (chocolate mousse cake, strawberry shortcake, lemon cake with fresh lemon curd, etc.) but I’ve also indulged in a slice of plain chiffon cake for breakfast during Passover.
This chiffon cake is a new one for me, combining two of my favorite flavours: chocolate and orange. It reminds me of Sabra liquor and the chocolate bars we used to get during Passover when I was growing up. If you’re a fan of that flavour combination, give this cake a try. It may become a new Passover favorite for you.
Double Chocolate Orange Chiffon Cake
A Passover chocolate chiffon cake studded with chocolate chips, a strong hint of orange in the cake and orange glaze topping it off!
Ingredients
- 9 large eggs, separated
- 2 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest
- 12 oz / 340 grams granulated sugar, divided (1 1/2 cups)
- 4 3/4 oz / 135 grams cake meal (1 cup)
- 1 1/2 oz / 42 grams cocoa powder (6 Tbsp.)
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup plus 5 tsp. orange juice
- 6 oz / 170 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
- 4 oz / 112 grams powdered sugar (1 cup)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- In a bowl, mix the egg yolks with half of the granulated sugar, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the orange zest and mix in. Mix the cake meal and cocoa together and add half of it to the egg yolks, mixing well. Add 1/2 cup of orange juice and mix in, then the rest of the cake meal and cocoa, and finall, add the oil and mix well.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a whip (or hand mixer), start to whip the egg whites on medium-high until frothy. Slowly add the remaining granulated sugar as you whip the eggs, and continue whipping until the egg whites are stiff.
- Add approximately 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture and fold it together. Then add the next 1/3 and gently fold together, and then fold the remaining 1/3 in. You should mix this together gently, so that you don’t deflate the egg whites, but also trying to eliminate any clumps of whites. Add the chocolate chips and gently fold in.
- Pour the batter into a tube pan with a removable bottom and spread it out evenly. I like to gently tap the pan on the counter to eliminate any potential air pockets.
- Bake for 30 minutes, turn the pan and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the top is set and a skewer comes out clean when you stick it in the middle of the cake. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately turn it upside down and let cool completely.
- Once cooled, use a knife with a thin blade and run it around the inside and outside edges of the cake. Carefully remove the outer pan from the cake and run the knife under the bottom of the cake. Place a plate on top of the cake and carefully turn the cake and plate over. Remove the bottom of the tube pan. I like to turn the cake over again, onto the serving tray, but you can use either end as the ‘top’ of the cake.
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and 5 tsp. of orange juice and mix well with a spoon. Carefully drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.
- If you’re going to freeze the cake, glaze it after it’s thawed again.
Pam's Kitchen 
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