Ingredients
- 1/4cup cocoa (unsweetened)
- 2tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
- 3tablespoons boiling water
- 1 1/2cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/3cups cake flour, plus 3 additional tablespoons (reserved)
- 2teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2teaspoon table salt
- 7 large eggs, 2 left whole, 5 separated
- 3/4cup water
- 1/2cup vegetable oil
- 1tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions
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Combine cocoa and dark brown sugar in small bowl. Stir in boiling water and mix until smooth.
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Adjust rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk sugar, 1 1/3 cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl (at least 4-quart size). Whisk in two whole eggs, five egg yolks (reserve whites), water, oil, and extracts until batter is just smooth.
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Pour reserved egg whites into large bowl; beat at medium speed with electric mixer until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar, increase speed to medium-high, then beat whites until very thick and stiff, just short of dry, 9 to 10 minutes with hand-held mixer and 5 to 7 minutes in KitchenAid or other standing mixer. With large rubber spatula, fold whites into batter, smearing in any blobs of white that resist blending with flat side of spatula.
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Equally divide batter into two separate bowls. Mix scant 1/2 cup of one batter portion into cocoa mixture, then partially fold this mixture back into the batter from which it came. Sieve or sift remaining cake flour over the now-chocolate batter and continue to fold until just mixed. Pour half the white, then half the chocolate, batter into large tube pan (9-inch diameter, 16-cup capacity); repeat. Do not rap pan against countertop. Wipe off any batter that may have dripped or splashed onto inside walls of pan with paper towel.
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Bake cake until wire cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Immediately turn cake upside down to cool. If pan does not have prongs around rim for elevating cake, invert pan over bottle or funnel, inserted through tube. Let cake hang until completely cold, about 2 hours.
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To unmold, turn pan upright. Run frosting spatula or thin knife around pan’s circumference between cake and pan wall, always pressing against the pan. Use cake tester to loosen cake from tube. For one-piece pan, bang it on counter several times, then invert over serving plate. For two-piece pan, grasp tube and lift cake out of pan. If glazing the cake, use a fork or a paring knife to gently scrape all the crust off the cake. Loosen cake from pan bottom with spatula or knife, then invert cake onto plate. (Can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature 2 days or refrigerated 4 days.)