By Request Betty Shimabukuro

Try again for a fluffy Dream Cake

This sorry story began here a few weeks ago, with a recipe for a Dream Cake from Hawaiian Electric Co. Now, HECO's recipes are generally quite reliable, tested by the company's home economists, and this particular one, from the 1950s, was marked with handwritten notes indicating it had been tried out a few times, and distributed (remember the Reddy Kilowatt recipe booklets?), with nary a problem.

It didn't seem to call for retesting in the new millennium. But then came the complaints -- three at once. Three cakes that all baked up flat as pancakes. OK, so I tried the recipe, twice, using up a carton of eggs, and got -- pancakes.

I have no explanation for why the recipe worked then and doesn't now. But on behalf of HECO and myself, to anyone who wasted eggs and cocoa powder trying this out, we are really sorry.

I offer as restitution this recipe, adapted from several published recipes for chocolate chiffon cakes (the basis of a Dream Cake). This one I did try out.

Chocolate Dream Cake

» Meringue:
8 egg whites (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

» Frosting:
4 cups whipped cream
1 thick (king-sized) chocolate candy bar

Combine cocoa powder in hot water in mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve; cool.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line bottoms of 3 9-inch round cake pans with parchment (or make 2 cake layers and 12 cupcakes).

Add oil, vanilla and egg yolks to cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk until smooth.

In large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.

Add chocolate mixture to flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

To make meringue: In a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add sugar and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually add meringue to chocolate batter and stir until incorporated. Pour into baking pans and bake 30 minutes, until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack, then remove from pans.

Frost between layers, top and sides with whipped cream. Use a vegetable peeler to peel curls off sides of chocolate bar and use to garnish cake.