Chocolate Cinnamon Cake with Almond Cream

Directions

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).

Coat a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray with flour. Or you can spray the pan with regular cooking spray, dust with flour and tap out the excess.

Melt chocolate in the microwave on Medium in 30-second bursts, stirring after each burst to ensure even melting, until completely melted. (Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water, stirring constantly.) Set aside.

Mix together cake flour, whole-wheat flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat egg whites in a clean medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.

Add ¼ cup sugar in a slow, steady stream.

Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Whisk together the remaining ½ cup sugar, brown sugar and oil in a large bowl on medium speed until combined.

Beat in egg yolks one at a time, then melted chocolate and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until combined.

Add ½ cup milk to the egg-yolk mixture, beating on low speed, then add half the flour mixture.

Beat in the remaining ½ cup milk, then the remaining flour mixture just until combined.

Fold in the whites with a spatula, using long, even strokes. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly to the edges.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.

For the almond cream:

Beat cream and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is the consistency of sour cream, about 1 minute.

Beat in sour cream, almond extract, vanilla and cinnamon.

Serve the cake with the almond cream.