An Inferior Cousin...(Chocolate Chiffon Cake)

After the very successful recipe for Pandan Chiffon Cake that has become a staple in my household, I wish to replicate the success with a different version. Since I had just bought a tub of Hershey's Chocolate Powder, I thought why not Chocolate Chiffon Cake?
So using the same recipe, I changed the ingredients slightly to make the chiffon cake. And I also reduced the amount of sugar.
However, the end result was not as successful as the Pandan Chiffon Cake. Although still fluffy and very soft, it is rather bland (could be due to the reduction of sugar used). Some commented that it is still nice but from their tone, I can see that it has not achieved the status of its superior cousin yet. Then again, I can't help but to think that this cake will be excellent as a base for an "iced" cake (e.g., Black Forest, etc..).