Chocolate cake doesn’t always have to mean rich, indulgent chocolate cakes. For something light but still chocolatey, you definitely should try this Chocolate Cream Chiffon Cake recipe. This Chocolate Cream Chiffon Cake features a fluffy cocoa sponge topped with a silky chocolate whipped cream. The cake itself is delicately sweet with that signature cloud-like chiffon texture, while the softly whipped chocolate cream adds just enough richness without making the whole thing feel heavy.
Instead of using a traditional tall tube pan for the chiffon cake, this recipe is suitable for square or round cake tins. It makes an elegant yet surprisingly simple chocolate cake that’s perfect for afternoon tea, or whenever you’re craving something chocolatey but don’t fancy a rich, dense cake.
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Chiffon Cake Recipe
- Incredibly light & fluffy – whipped egg whites give the chocolate sponge its airy, cloud-like texture.
- Chocolatey without being too rich – both the chiffon sponge and cream contain chocolate, but the finished cake remains light and delicate.
- Soft chocolate cream topping – instead of a heavy buttercream, the cake is finished with a light whipped chocolate cream.
- Not overly sweet – staying true to Asian-style cakes
What Is Chiffon Cake?
Chiffon cake is an incredibly light and airy type of sponge cake made with oil and separated eggs. Unlike butter cakes, chiffon cakes use vegetable oil, resulting in a moist and tender crumb. The egg yolks are mixed into the cake batter while the egg whites are whipped separately into a meringue before being carefully folded through. It’s this meringue that gives chiffon cake its signature tall rise and cloud-like texture, while using oil rather than butter helps the sponge remain beautifully soft and moist – even when chilled. This also makes chiffon particularly well suited to lighter cream fillings and toppings.
Chiffon cakes are especially popular across East Asia, where you’ll commonly find different flavours served in cafés and bakeries.
Chocolate Chiffon Cake vs Regular Chocolate Cake
Although both deliver plenty of chocolate flavour, their textures are quite different. A traditional chocolate cake tends to have a richer, denser crumb and is commonly made with butter and topped with buttercream or ganache.
Chocolate chiffon cake, on the other hand, gets much of its rise from whipped egg whites and uses vegetable oil instead of butter. The result is much lighter, airier and springier, with a delicate melt-in-the-mouth texture. Paired with the softly whipped chocolate cream in this recipe, it’s a lovely alternative if you find traditional frosted chocolate cakes a little too heavy. This chocolate chiffon cake tastes so wonderfully light compared to a traditional chocolate cake that it’s almost like a guilt-free treat!
How to Make Chocolate Cream Chiffon Cake at Home
Ingredients You Need
Chocolate Chiffon Cake Ingredients
- Cocoa Powder – gives the sponge its chocolate flavour. Use good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder for the best results.
- Milk – use room-temperature milk so that it combines easily with the cocoa and oil.
- Vegetable Oil – keeps the chiffon sponge soft and moist.
- Plain Flour (All-purpose Flour) – provides structure while still keeping the sponge delicate.
- Eggs – yolks and whites separated. The yolks add richness to the batter while the whites are whipped into meringue to create the cake’s airy texture.
- Sugar – fine caster sugar preferred as it dissolves easily into the egg whites and helps create a stable, glossy meringue. But regular granulated white sugar works fine as well.
- Lemon Juice – just a tiny squeeze helps stabilise the egg whites as they’re whipped.
Chocolate Cream Topping Ingredients
- Double Cream / Heavy Cream – make sure it’s cold before whipping for the best results.
- Dark Chocolate – I use 54% dark chocolate, but you can choose your favourite chocolate depending on how sweet or intense you’d like the cream to be. Dark chocolate gives you a deeper, less sweet finish, while milk chocolate makes the cream sweeter and milder.
Dutch-Processed vs Natural Cocoa Powder
Natural and Dutch-processed cocoa powder may look similar, but they differ in acidity, colour and flavour. Natural cocoa powder has a more acidic, slightly sharper chocolate flavour, whereas Dutch-processed cocoa has been alkalised to reduce its acidity. This generally gives it a darker colour and smoother, mellower chocolate flavour.
For this particular recipe, however, the distinction is less critical than in recipes that rely on baking soda for their rise. This chiffon cake gets its lift primarily from the whipped egg whites and doesn’t contain baking soda or baking powder. I’d personally opt for a good-quality Dutch-processed cocoa for a darker colour and smooth chocolate flavour, but a good-quality unsweetened natural cocoa can work too. Whichever you choose, sift it well and don’t increase the quantity, as cocoa absorbs moisture and adding too much can affect the delicate chiffon texture.
How to Make Chocolate Cream Chiffon Cake Step-by-Step
1. Make the Chiffon Batter
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F.
Combine the cocoa powder, vegetable oil and room-temperature milk in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly until smooth and emulsified.
Sift in the plain flour and mix until there are no visible lumps. Don’t worry if the mixture looks relatively dry at this stage.
Add the three egg yolks and mix again until you have a smooth chocolate batter. Set aside while you prepare the meringue.
2. Make the Meringue
Place the bowl containing the egg whites in the fridge for around 15 minutes before whipping.
Add a small squeeze of lemon juice and the caster sugar to the cold egg whites. Whisk on medium-high speed until the meringue reaches soft peaks. It should be glossy and able to hold its shape, but the peak should still have a gentle curl rather than standing completely stiff.
3. Fold the Meringue Into the Chocolate Batter
Add one-third of the meringue to the chocolate egg-yolk mixture and gently mix until combined.
Add the remaining two-thirds of the meringue into the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula, gently fold everything together using a J-shaped folding motion, cutting down through the centre of the mixture and sweeping around the bottom of the bowl.
Avoid whisking or stirring vigorously at this stage. You want to retain as much of the air you’ve incorporated into the egg whites as possible.
Continue just until the batter is evenly chocolatey with no obvious streaks of meringue remaining.
4. Bake the Chocolate Chiffon Cake
Pour the batter into an ungreased square 7×7-inch cake tin and gently tap the tin against the work surface a few times to release any large trapped air bubbles.
Bake in the preheated oven at 150°C/300°F for approximately 55 minutes, or until the cake is cooked through and springs back gently when touched.
5. Cool the Chiffon Cake Upside Down
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, gently tap the tin against the work surface a few times to help release trapped steam.
Immediately turn the cake, still inside its tin, upside down onto a cooling rack. Leave it inverted until it has completely cooled before attempting to remove it from the tin.
Don’t rush this part! Cooling chiffon cake upside down helps support its delicate structure while it cools and reduces the chance of the cake collapsing.
6. Make the Chocolate Cream
Once the chiffon cake has completely cooled, prepare the chocolate cream. Whip the cold double cream together with the melted chocolate until the mixture reaches soft peaks.
Be careful not to overwhip it. We’re looking for a soft, silky consistency rather than a stiff frosting.
7. Assemble and Decorate
Remove the completely cooled chiffon cake from its tin and transfer it onto a serving plate.
Softly spread the chocolate cream over the top. You can decorate the cake with some chocolate shavings, sprinkles, extra cocoa powder, etc., if you like!
Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Chiffon Cake
- Don’t grease the cake tin. This is particularly important with chiffon cake. The batter needs to cling to the sides of the tin as it rises. A greased or very slippery non-stick surface can prevent it from getting the support it needs.
- Get the meringue just right. For this recipe, you’re looking for soft peaks rather than a very stiff meringue. Gradually adding the sugar as you whisk helps create a smooth, stable foam. When you lift the whisk, the meringue should hold its shape but still curl softly at the tip.
- Fold, don’t whisk. Once you’ve spent all that time incorporating air into your egg whites, you don’t want to knock it straight back out! Use a spatula and a gentle J-shaped motion when incorporating the meringue into the chocolate batter. Stop folding as soon as there are no obvious white streaks.
- Don’t skip cooling the cake upside down. Chiffon cake has a much more delicate structure than a conventional butter cake. Cooling it inverted helps prevent the sponge from collapsing under its own weight as it cools.
- Let the cake cool completely before adding cream. Adding whipped cream to a warm cake is a recipe for a melted mess. Make sure the chiffon is completely cool before decorating it.
How to Store Chocolate Cream Chiffon Cake
Because this chocolate chiffon cake is topped with fresh double cream, keep the finished cake covered in the refrigerator. For the best texture, I recommend enjoying it within 2–3 days.
One of the advantages of chiffon cake is that its oil-based sponge remains relatively soft when refrigerated, unlike butter-heavy cakes that can become considerably firmer when chilled. If you’d like to prepare it ahead, bake and completely cool the chiffon sponge first, then decorate it with the chocolate cream closer to serving.
Serving Ideas
This Chocolate Cream Chiffon Cake is lovely on its own with a cup of tea or coffee. You could also serve each square with fresh strawberries, raspberries or other berries to balance the chocolate.
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Recipe FAQs
Chocolate Cream Chiffon Cake
Equipment
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- 1 7-inch Cake Tin
- 1 Electric Whisk optional
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Chiffon Cake
- 50 g Milk (at room temperature)
- 35 g Vegetable Oil
- 10 g Cocoa Powder
- 45 g Plain Flour
- 3 Eggs (yolks and whites separated)
- ¼ tsp Lemon Juice
- 50 g White Sugar
For the Chocolate Cream
- 450 ml Double Cream / Heavy Cream
- 50 g Dark Chocolate (melted) I use 54% chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150°C / 300°F.
- In a mixing bowl, mix the cocoa powder, vegetable oil and milk until emulsified.Â35 g Vegetable Oil, 10 g Cocoa Powder, 50 g Milk (at room temperature)
- Sift in plain flour and mix until fully combined.45 g Plain Flour
- Add the egg yolks and mix until smooth.3 Eggs (yolks and whites separated)
- In a separate mixing bowl, add lemon juice and sugar to the chilled egg whites. Whisk till soft peaks form.¼ tsp Lemon Juice, 50 g White Sugar
- Using a spatula, gently fold â…“ of the whisked egg whites into the chocolate mixture until combined. Fold in the remaining â…” of the egg whites until the batter is evenly chocolatey, with no obvious streaks of meringue remaining.
- Pour the mixture into a square cake tin. Tap a few times to get rid of big air pockets. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes.
- When the cake is out of the oven, tap a few times on a surface to get rid of the trapped steam. Then leave it to cool on a rack upside down (cake still in the tin, not taken out).
- After the cake has cooled down, whisk together the double cream and melted chocolate till soft peaks form.450 ml Double Cream / Heavy Cream, 50 g Dark Chocolate (melted)
- Remove the completely cooled chiffon cake from its tin and transfer it onto a serving plate. Softly spread the chocolate cream over the top.
Notes
- This recipe was tested at 150°C / 300°F in a conventional oven.
- Do not grease the sides of the cake tin. The chiffon batter needs to cling to the sides of the tin as it rises.
- Make sure the mixing bowl and whisk used for the egg whites are completely clean and free from oil or grease.
- Whip the egg whites to soft peaks – they should hold their shape with a soft curl at the tip rather than standing completely stiff.
- Fold the meringue gently into the chocolate batter using a J-shaped motion to avoid knocking out too much air.
- Cool the chiffon cake completely upside down before removing it from the tin.
- Make sure the cake is completely cool before adding the chocolate cream.
- Use dark chocolate for a deeper, less sweet cream or milk chocolate for a sweeter, milder chocolate flavour.
- Store the finished cake covered in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2–3 days.
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