July 20, 2011

The Cake Slice July 2011 - Zebra Cake




It is Cake Slice Baker's time and this month we are baking a Zebra Cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. We have been baking from this book since October of 2010 and I have to say that I have had so much fun and each of the cakes has been something special, and I have yet to need a cake keeper since they are gone in no time.

When I heard that this cake had been chosen I was a little nervous.  It is one of those cakes that I have seen in magazines and wondered how did they do that? As the time got closer to making the cake I asked myself if I was up to the challenge? After reading through the recipe I kept thinking can it be that simple?  And before I embarrass myself more by telling you about more of the conversations I have with myself, let me say that this cake could not be any easier and you will wow people with it.




This cake gets its flavor from a vanilla and a chocolate batter that is intertwined.  To make the chocolate even more intense I used one tablespoon of  Black Cocoa that I purchased from King Arthur Flour, along with one tablespoon of the regular Dutch-process cocoa.  My chocolate batter seemed a little thick so I had to add a little more of the vanilla batter to it because it was not spreading out as it should in the cake pan.

Once again the Cake Keeper Cake got an excellent rating from my family.  Everyone loved that the cake had both vanilla and chocolate flavors, and it was nice and moist.  I could really see this cake working well with other flavors too.

Please join me in checking out all of the other Cake Slice Bakers blogs by clicking on this link.




Zebra Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup milk, whole or 2%
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Preparation
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
  2. Grease a 9 inch pan, line with a circle of parchment paper, grease the parchment and dust with flour. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. 
  3. Combine the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. 
  4. With the mixer on low speed, stir in the milk, butter, oil and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. 
  5. Stir in the flour mixture, ½ cup at a time.  
  6. Transfer a third of the batter into another bowl and whisk in the cocoa powder.  
  7. Place a quarter cup of the vanilla batter into the centre of the pan and let it stand for a few seconds so it spreads out slightly. 
  8. Place 2 tablespoons of the chocolate batter right on top of then vanilla and wait another few seconds until it spreads. 
  9. Continue alternating vanilla and chocolate until you have used up all the batter and it has spread to the edges of the pan.  
  10. Bake until the cake is set and a toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes. 
  11. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. 
  12. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a cutting board. Peel away the parchment paper and re-invert onto a wire rack and cool completely. Slice and serve. 
  13. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for 3 days.
Cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman.

48 comments:

  1. I love that this cake is like a secret surprise! It looks so impressive when you slice it. Great job Felice!

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  2. That's an awesome specimen of a Zebra Cake you got there!!

    Did you use the 1tbsp of baking powder?

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  3. I love how you made the zebra stripes. What a great idea. I bookmarked you for later.

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  4. I was almost amazing how this cake looks..and how people manage to make it.. :) Nice cake

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  5. Great looking cake here, definitely a step up from the standard marble. The classic flavors of chocolate and vanilla are always welcome in my house. Simply delicious.

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  6. I love it! I've seen this kinda cake before and also always wondered how they did it! Now I'm going to have to try it.

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  7. This just looks so amazing. What a beautiful cake!

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  8. Wow! This is incredible. I bet there weren't any crumbs left. So creative with the stripes - fantastic!

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  9. Wow your cake looks favulous. I love all the strips you achieved and using that black cocoa really made for a great colour contrast. Well done!

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  10. Oh, Felice! This is stunning! On my baking list now~

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  11. Great use of the black cocoa! It looks perfect!

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  12. @Emily

    Hi Emily, yes I used 1 tablespoon of baking powder.

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  13. So pretty!!! I've been wanting to try this cake too for a while! I should def give it a try already :)
    Buzzed ya! :)

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  14. I can;t get over how awesome this cake looks!

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  15. Oh MY!!! You did such an amazing job on this cake! I am in awe... Yum!

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  16. I just love how this looks! Fantastic!!

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  17. This is awesome, I love the look, so unique!

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  18. This cake is so cool! I've never seen anything like this before. Great job!

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  19. Felice, this cake definitely WOWed me. looks stunning!!!

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  20. What a stunning cake! Absolutely a show stopper. Thank you for sharing.

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  21. What a beautidul and clever cake. I bet it's delicious, too.

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  22. So cool looking!! And pretty darn yummy looking too hehe. This sure didn't need another well deserved buzz but it got one anyway :-P

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  23. What an awesome cake! You did a wonderful job on this one and it turned out lovely.

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  24. This is incredible! I can't wait to make this and trick people into thinking I have mad skills :)

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  25. That is truly one of the neatest things I've ever seen! You almost should have kept the "how to" a secret. Liv and I made a checkerboard cake a few years ago, but this one (should I say it???!!) Takes the cake!! Sorry.. couldn't resist!!

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  26. This is so cool! I had to read all of the instructions to figure out how you got the stripes to look so cool haha I want to try this!

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  27. This is the most interesting looking cakes I have ever seen! I'm sure guests would be very impressed at the mystery of how to get the stripes look so awesome :)

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  28. I am hearing about this cake for some time now. This looks great and so different! You are a perfect baker! Congrats for being at top 9. Saved your recipe.

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  29. Okay, I admit it, I originally clicked just to see how the heck the stripes were made, but now I have to make this! I can't believe how easy this looks! I also can't wait to make it and watch my mother in law's jaw drop. :)

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  30. Beautiful cake. Congrats for the Top9!!!!

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  31. WOW...I have never seen anything like this before, it really is so cool! I bet it tasted as good as it looked too! That dark cocoa sounds wonderful, I never knew you could get products form King Arthur, I use there flour at home all the time.

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  32. I love this cake! You did such a great job. I made a checkerboard cake years ago and it was a lot of trouble, but I love this cake. I am putting it on my baking to do list. Great job.

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  33. What an impressive cake! Love the zebra layering in this!

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  34. Congrats on the top 9! This cake looks so cool!

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  35. OH WOW, Felice, that's gorgeous! I am so glad you shared the secret! :)

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  36. They suggested using one tablespoon of Black Cocoa along with one tablespoon of the regular Dutch-process cocoa – I assume that is IN PLACE OF and not IN ADDITION TO the cocoa listed in the ingredients – is that correct?

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  37. I don't know if I've ever seen a cake that makes me gasp! I love this so much, such a fan of zebra stripes + cake. I'm going to have to link to this on my blog somehow, as the most amazing creation I've seen to date!

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  38. @Joyce
    Hi Joyce, the black cocoa was actually my idea. The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder. I decided to use 1 tablespoon of black cocoa and one table spoon of unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder. It gives the cakes almost black stripes.

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  39. What a simply gorgeous and impressive cake. You would never guess the dramatic "zebra strips" were in that cake when you looked at it whole. Amazing job! Congrats on Top 9 on Foodbuzz! Well deserved. : )

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  40. Thanks so much for responding to my question. I think I will try your suggestion for the cocoa instead of as shown in the recipe. I can't wait to make it - can't believe that it actually turns out striped like that.

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  41. Amazing looking cake-- definitely has a wow factor!

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  42. That cake is SO cool! Absolutely deserved Food buzz's Top 9! Congratulations!

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  43. Great job Felice! Your darker stripes are lovely and black too. I did one and the stripes were more chocolately looking :)

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  44. Prettiest cake by far and lovely photos, too.

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  45. Beautiful. What a neat way to make the stripes.

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  46. OMG, that looks so wonderful! I'm definitely going to try making that!

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  47. Oh wow! This looks so lovely! I saw this on Pinterest and it looked far to difficult for me, but you explained it well! Thank you! Cant wait to try :D Love your blog!!

    Kara :) http://lovehomebird.blogspot.com/

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