Reduced-Guilt Chocolate Layer Cake with Meringue Frosting
NOTE: This cake
is springier than the others in this chapter and not as rich. Egg
whites keep the cake soft and moist, and with less fat the
chocolate flavor and color are actually more
intense.
1 recipe Basic Chocolate Cake, with changes below
1 recipe Meringue Frosting
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Follow master recipe for Basic Chocolate Cake, making the following changes: Whisk 1/2 cup vegetable oil into cocoa mixture along with vanilla. Omitting step 3, whisk 1 cup sugar with flour and other dry ingredients in step 4. Rather than mixing wet and dry ingredients in three portions as in step 4, simply add cooled cocoa mixture to dry ingredients. Beat 4 large egg whites in bowl of electric mixer at low speed until foamy. Add 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, raise speed to medium, and beat to soft peaks. Increase mixer speed to high and beat whites until stiff and glossy. Slowly sprinkle in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat 15 seconds more. Fold egg whites gently but thoroughly into cocoa batter. Bake only 20 to 25 minutes.
2. When layers are cool, frost cake.