Mary Rapoport at the Virginia Egg Council sent me the recipes from the three local bakers who are eligible to compete in the chiffon cake contest this weekend. She also sent this picture, which looks heavenly to me. I am just dreaming of a light, moist cake topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Recipes are posted after the jump. If you try your hand at making any, or all, of these recipes, post a comment and let us know how it turned out.

First place – Denise Murphy

Orange Chiffon Cake
2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
7 large egg yolks
¾ cup fresh orange juice
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
9 large egg whites
½ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar

Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Preheat oven to 325°. Have an ungreased 10” tube pan ready.

Whisk together in a large bowl: Cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Add egg yolks, orange juice, oil, zest and vanilla. Beat on high speed until smooth.

Using clean beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar in another bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the ¼ cup of sugar, beating on high speed until they are so stiff they lose their gloss. Use a rubber spatula to fold one quarter of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites.
Scrape the batter into the tube pan and spread evenly
Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 – 65 MINUTES. Let the cake cool upside down, resting on top of an inverted metal funnel or on a bottle.
Let cake cool for at least 1 ½ hrs, until thoroughly set. Place on cake plate. Drizzle with Orange Glaze.

Orange Glaze
1 T. butter
4 T. freshly squeezed orange juice
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 T. freshly grated orange zest
1 cup powdered sugar
Melt butter. Add to remaining ingredients, mixing well. Drizzle over top of cooled cake.

2nd Place – Joni Underwood

Chocolate Brownie Chiffon Cake
1 3/4 cups sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ cup baking cocoa
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
1 (8 oz.) box instant chocolate pudding
2 tsp vanilla
½ cup oil
¾ cup water
1 cup buttermilk
7 large egg yolks
½ tsp cream of tarter
7 large egg whites
Fold in:
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 325°. Mix sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, flour and pudding mix together in a large bowl. Combine vanilla, oil, water, buttermilk and egg yolks in another bowl.
In a third bowl, beat cream of tarter and egg whites together until stiff.
Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients, slowly mixing until smooth.
Gently fold in the stiff egg whites and all the chocolate chips and chunks.
Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes.
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cake. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream

Third Place – Vicky Thompson

Nanny’s Chocolate Chiffon Cake
6 large eggs, separated, plus 2 additional egg whites
2 ½ cups sifted cake flour
1 ½ cups plus 2 T. granulated sugar, divided (3/4 and the remainder)
3 ½ tsp. baking powder
Large pinch of salt
½ tsp. cream of tartar
¾ cup water
½ cup safflower oil (or corn or canola)
2 tsp. Grand Manier liqueur
Grated zest of 2 oranges
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely grated

• Separate eggs, yolks in one bowl and whites in another – bring to room temperature by placing each bowl in a larger bowl of hot water.
• Preheat oven to 350°. With a hand held mixer, mix flour, ¾ cup sugar, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl. Add water, oil, egg yolks and Grand Manier. Mix until smooth. Stir in orange zest. Batter will be thin.
• With a stand mixer, beat egg whites on high until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat until egg whites are thick, not stiff. Add ¾ cup plus 2 T sugar slowly while beating until just before stiff stage.
• Fold yolk batter into egg whites in six additions. Add grated chocolate before last addition and make sure that everything is mixed from bottom of bowl.
• Pour into a very clean tube pan and bake for 45 – 52 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Do not overbake!
• Let cake hang upside down on a wine bottle until cool.

Filling
12 oz. marscapone cheese
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
1 cup pasteurized liquid eggs (egg whites with added yolks) – sold in dairy case
¼ cup sugar
2 T Grand Manier liqueur
Beat marscapone until light and fluffy while melting chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Beat eggs with sugar until thickened. Combine cheese, melted chocolate, eggs and sugar and fold in Grand Manier.

Cut cake into 3 layers and spread filling between ad on top. Garnish with chocolate curls and orange zest.