“Chiffon Prague”. One of my family’s favorite cakes! But do not confuse it with “Prague”!
I cooked the classic Prague, cooked the Prague according to a simplified recipe, and this time I will cook it according to my favorite recipe. The composition of chiffon biscuit cakes necessarily includes baking powder and vegetable oil, which give the biscuit a very special, very light, crumbly – moist structure.
The composition of chocolate-chiffon biscuit also contains a large amount of cocoa, which determines its rich chocolate color and taste. Give it a try! I would be glad if you like this recipe too!
Ingredients
For chocolate chiffon biscuit you will need:
- Flour – 200 g
- Cocoa Powder – 60 g
- Instant coffee – 1 1/3 tablespoon
- Egg whites – 8 pieces
- 5 egg yolks
- Baking powder – 2 teaspoons
- Soda – ¼ teaspoon
- Salt – ¼ teaspoon
- Sugar – 180 g + 45 g
- Water – 175 ml
- Vegetable oil – 125 ml
For cream you will need:
- Butter – 200 – 250 g
- Condensed milk – 5 tablespoons
- Egg yolks – 3 pieces
- Water – 1/4 cup
- Chocolate – 50 gr
- Cognac (optional) – 1 tablespoon
For the glaze you will need:
- Cocoa powder – 2 tablespoons
- Sugar – 4 tablespoons
- Water – 6 tablespoons
- Butter – about 2 teaspoons
Recipe
For the cake you will need to bake a chocolate-chiffon biscuit. Mix cocoa and instant coffee. Add the required amount of warm water according to the recipe and stir until dissolved, until smooth.
Divide the eggs into squirrels and yolks. It is very desirable that the eggs be at room temperature since further we will whip the proteins, and the proteins at room temperature both whip easier and give a more stable structure.
Make sure that during the separation process, not a drop of yolk gets into the proteins, since the presence of fat makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to whip.
Beat the yolks with 180 g of sugar until a lush, homogeneous mass is formed. Gently, in small portions, stirring well each time, enter the required amount of vegetable oil.
Gently and gradually stir in a solution of cocoa – coffee. Combine the flour, baking powder and soda and sift into a bowl with the dough. Stir the flour into the dough, achieving a homogeneous mass.
Add salt to the proteins. Start whipping at low mixer speeds, increasing speed as the volume of whipped proteins increases.
In well-whipped proteins, add 45 g of sugar and beat until stable peaks, i.e. to such a state that the peak formed on the surface of the whipped proteins does not break, does not bend, but stays steady.
I will remind you along the way that it is very important that when whipping proteins they do not get even the slightest amount of fat.
I mean, if you have one set of blades for whipping, and you used it when kneading the dough, then before you start whipping the proteins, be sure to thoroughly rinse the blades with a degreasing agent, for example, fairies.
Put the whipped proteins into the dough very carefully. Particularly gently and carefully interfere with the first portions of protein. at the very beginning, proteins and dough have a different consistency, which gradually, during the process of protein intervention, is leveled. Stir in the proteins with folding movements, from top to bottom.
Pour the dough into a mold and bake in a preheated to 160 C oven until dry on a stick (about 50 minutes). Do not open the oven door during baking (and especially in the first 30 minutes)! Otherwise, it is very likely that the biscuit will settle.
Remove the biscuit from the oven. It is very desirable to cool chiffon biscuits in an inverted state. For this purpose I use 4 cups of the same height. I turn over the biscuit mold and place it resting on the edges of the cups.
I let the biscuit cool completely and take it out of shape. Before starting the assembly of the cake, the baked biscuit should stand for 5-6 hours so that it does not slip in the finished cake.
Cut the biscuit horizontally into 3 parts.
For cream, beat egg yolks, add water, condensed milk to them, mix until smooth. I don’t add flour to custard because I think that without flour the cream is softer, but, if desired, you can add 1 – 2 tablespoons.
The presence of flour greatly simplifies and speeds up the process of brewing – thickening the cream.
I made a cream without a water bath, with direct heating. This allows you to brew the cream faster, but the danger of spoiling the cream with this brewing is much higher. If you do not feel strong and confident enough, brew the cream in a water bath.
It will be longer, but, as you know, you go quieter – you will continue. If you brew a cream without a water bath, begin to warm the mixture over minimal heat. As you warm up, gradually increase the heat of the stove.
Stir the egg mixture vigorously throughout the entire brewing process, not forgetting the corners of the pan.
In no case do not bring the mixture to a boil. When the mixture thickens, and by consistency will resemble condensed milk, remove the pan from the stove. Put the chocolate in the brewed cream, wait 3 to 4 minutes for the chocolate to melt, and mix.
Let the custard cool to room temperature. Beat softened butter (softened means room temperature butter, not melted). Gradually, in small portions, add the custard base to the oil.
Add cognac if you wish.
Put about half of the cream on the lower and middle crusts (do not coat the upper crust), even out. Leave a little cream to smear the sides. Collect the cake. With the rest of the cream, coat the sides.
To make the icing more even, apply jam to the top of the cake. Ideally, it should be apricot or apple jam, but you can use any other. The main thing is that the jam should be homogeneous (without berries), become liquid enough when heated, so that it can be applied in a thin layer, and solidify to a thick one when cooled.
If your jam remains too thick even after heating, you can dilute it with a little hot water. To achieve uniformity of jam, you can wipe it through a sieve.
Put the cake prepared in this way in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes, so that the cream gently seizes and thickens the jam. For icing, mix cocoa, sugar, add the required amount of water according to the recipe.
Put on the stove and cook with gradual heating and constant stirring until thickened. Usually it is enough to bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add butter, stir.
Cover the sides and top of the cake with hot icing. If the glaze is thick, you can correct the situation by adding a little hot water.
Place the cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to freeze the icing. Along the way, I note that this recipe produces a very shiny glaze that continues to shine even after hardening, but do not expect the glaze to solidify to a solid state, it will always be not liquid, but soft.
