This Chocolate Chiffon Cake is incredibly light and billowy, with a deep chocolate taste that will blow you away! Finish it with a simple dusting of powdered sugar and you have a year-round showstopper your guests will love!

Chocolate chiffon cake sliced with whole strawberries placed on and in front of a dark purple ceramic plate on a black background.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

This chocolate chiffon cake recipe is adapted from a 1983-84 PA State Grange cookbook that my neighbor gave me a few years ago.

I love this cake because it's easy to make, light and airy, super chocolatey, and works beautifully served plain or with a dusting of powdered sugar and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Here is a fun fact: chiffon cake belongs to the same family as sponge cake and angel food cake, with a few small differences. Take my Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Roll, which has a chocolate sponge base. It uses whole eggs and butter instead of oil. My Homemade Angel Food Cake uses neither butter nor oil, only egg whites. Each has its own twist, and they are all delicious, so I recommend trying every one!

Ingredient List

The ingredients in the image below go into this soft and fluffy chocolate chiffon cake recipe. Bulleted items are the key ingredients that need a bit more explanation.

Ingredients in various size plates and bowls labeled as vanilla extract, vegetable oil, espresso powder, granulated sugar, water, eggs, dutch process cocoa powder, cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt on a white marbled background.

Eggs. Separate the eggs carefully. For the whites, make sure there's no trace of yolk or fat.
Cream of Tartar. Helps the egg whites hold their structure when beaten to stiff peaks.
Cake Flour. Cake flour gives this chocolate chiffon cake a soft, tender texture and a much lighter crumb than all-purpose flour. Sift this ingredient, along with the next one.
Dutch Process Cocoa Powder. This is what gives this chocolate chiffon cake its rich, chocolatey flavor!
Baking Powder and Baking Soda. Make sure both are fresh and not expired.
Vegetable Oil. A neutral oil such as vegetable oil works best in this chiffon cake. Canola or coconut oil also work. Just make sure they haven't expired, since rancid oil will affect the taste and smell of your cake.
Espresso Powder. This boosts the chocolate flavor. Dissolve it in the warm water.

For quantities and instructions, please see the recipe card below.

Substitution Options

Below are a few 1:1 swaps you can make in this recipe.

Espresso Powder. You can use instant coffee instead, or leave this ingredient out entirely, since it's only there to enhance the chocolate flavor.
Water. You can replace the water with milk. In testing, I used whole milk, but skim, 1%, or 2% will also work.
Dutch Process Cocoa Powder. In a pinch, unsweetened cocoa powder can stand in, but the cake won't be as chocolatey.

Please note that I did not test this recipe with any other flour or sugar substitutions.

Making the Recipe

Here is a quick overview of how to make this homemade chocolate chiffon cake. The complete printable recipe, in US customary or metric measurements, is in the recipe card below.

Quick Tip: Before you start, separate your eggs into two bowls. This helps make sure no yolks end up in the whites and vice versa.

Dissolving espresso powder with warm water in a glass measuring cup and sifting flour and cocoa powder into a glass bowl on a white marbled background.

Step 1. Dissolve the espresso powder in warm water (Image 1). Set it aside to cool. In a separate large bowl, sift together the cake flour and Dutch process cocoa powder (Image 2).

Wet ingredients added to the center well of dry ingredients in a glass bowl and a fully mixed bowl of chocolate chiffon cake batter in a glass bowl on a white marbled background.

Step 2. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar. Whisk everything together, then make a well in the center. Pour into the well the egg yolks, the espresso water, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract (Image 3). Whisk until blended (Image 4).

Mixing egg whites and cream of tartar into stiff glossy peaks in a large glass mixing bowl on a white marbled background.

Step 3. Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar. Mix on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form (Images 5 and 6). This takes about 4 minutes with a hand mixer or about 2 minutes in a stand mixer.

Folding meringue into chocolate chiffon cake batter in a large glass bowl on a white marbled background.

Step 4. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Do this in thirds, making sure everything is fully blended and no streaks remain (Images 7 and 8). You want to keep as much of the air from the egg whites as possible. The batter will be light and foamy. Pour it into the ungreased tube pan.

Chocolate chiffon cake batter in an aluminum tube pan then baked.

Step 5. Bake the chiffon cake, then cool it. Bake at 325°F for 55-60 minutes (Images 9 and 10). A cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, and the top should spring back when gently pressed. Turn the tube pan upside down onto soup cans (even if it has legs) and cool completely, about 1 1/2-2 hours.

Quick Tip: To release the chiffon cake from the pan, slide a flat or offset spatula along the sides, around the center tube, and along the bottom. Carefully turn it out onto a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar.

Slices of chocolate chiffon cake on small dark purple and light pink ceramic dessert plates with a fork and strawberry placed on each one on a black background.

Frequently Asked Questions

What cake pan is best for chiffon cake?

An aluminum tube pan or angel food cake pan with a removable bottom works best. Some tube pans have legs that help the cake cool upside down.

Do you grease a tube pan for chiffon cake?

No. You do not grease the tube pan for chiffon cake.

Is it necessary to invert the cake to cool it?

Yes, definitely. Chiffon cakes, like my Homemade Angel Food Cake, should cool upside down over soup cans (even if your tube pan has feet) or on a cooling rack. Some people use a wine bottle. If you cool it right side up, the cake will collapse.

Why did my chiffon cake fall out of the pan when inverted?

A few things can cause the cake to fall out of the pan when inverted. One is that the meringue wasn't fully folded into the rest of the batter, so make sure no streaks of meringue remain before pouring it into the ungreased tube pan. Another possibility is that the cake was underbaked, so it's always a good idea to test it with a cake tester or toothpick.

If you tried this Chocolate Chiffon Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know what you thought in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!