Dobash Cake (Hawaiʻi Local Chocolate Chiffon Cake)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Two 8-inch round cake pans
• •Electric mixer
• •Medium heavy-bottom saucepan
• •Offset spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the pans

   Heat the oven to 325F. Line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment, but leave the sides ungreased so the chiffon can climb. That little grip matters. Soft cake still needs something to hold onto.

2. 2

   Mix the batter

   Sift the cake flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a wide bowl. Whisk the egg yolks, water, oil, and vanilla until smooth, then stir them into the dry mix until the batter is glossy and no dry pockets remain.

3. 3

   Whip the whites

   Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy, then rain in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and keep beating to medium-stiff peaks. They should stand up with a soft bend at the tip, not dry and clumpy. If you take them too far, no panic, just fold carefully.

4. 4

   Fold and bake

   Fold one third of the whites into the chocolate batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest with a broad hand, turning the bowl until no white streaks show. Divide between the pans and bake 28 to 35 minutes, until the tops spring back and a tester comes out clean.

5. 5

   Cool the cake

   Cool the layers in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides and turn them out to cool completely. Trim the domes if they rose high, and save those scraps for crumbs. The crumbs on the outside are part of the memory, not decoration trying too hard.

6. 6

   Cook the icing

   Whisk the icing sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan, then whisk in the milk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it bubbles thick like pudding and the whisk leaves clear tracks. Take it off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until shiny.

7. 7

   Chill and stir

   Pour the icing into a shallow bowl, press plastic wrap directly on the surface, and chill until cool and spreadable, about 1 hour. Stir it smooth before using. It should spread like soft pudding, glossy and thick, not run off the cake.

8. 8

   Fill and ice

   Set one cake layer on a plate, spread on a thick layer of chocolate icing, and top with the second layer. Cover the top and sides with the rest, then press the saved cake crumbs around the sides. Chill 45 minutes before slicing so the knife cuts clean.

Chef Tips

• •This is Hawaiʻi Local bakery food, so keep the crumb light. Cake flour and gentle folding give you that soft chiffon bite instead of a heavy cocoa cake.
• •Cook the icing until it truly bubbles thick. If you stop early, it will slide. If it gets lumpy, push it through a sieve while warm and keep going. Eat what you have, fix what you can.
• •For the bakery-case finish, chill the cake before slicing and wipe the knife between cuts. The pudding icing sets clean when it's cold.

Advance Preparation

• •Bake the cake layers one day ahead, wrap them well, and keep them at room temperature until icing.
• •The cooked chocolate icing can be made one day ahead and refrigerated with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface. Stir it smooth before spreading.
• •The finished cake slices best after 45 minutes to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)