Zebra (Cup)Cake

I will admit – it was the look of this cake that made me want to make it, not any special ingredients or flavor components. It turns out that it's a very soft cake with a lovely chocolate flavor, but that doesn't really matter. I mean, who isn't a sucker for those lovely stripes? I bookmarked this recipe awhile ago, but hadn't gotten to it yet. Until last weekend.

What finally seduced me to trying this recipe? Well, I had a free evening to myself with nothing better to do than watch an America's Next Top Model marathon – so it was a no-brainer. Cake that takes patience and a steady hand and lots of time to pour the batter? I'm in! I even did one better, and made cupcakes. Er, but I don't recommend that, to be honest – I was almost out of flour and my only choice was to halve the recipe, which meant I had to make mini cakes. Dropping the batter teaspoon by teeny teaspoon is a bit tedious, even with a good reality show marathon to keep you company.

If you give this a shot (in real cake size, of course): I highly recommend checking out Farida's blog post before getting started – she has photos step by step, which is extremely helpful.

Zebra Cake

(recipe from Farida)

Ingredients:
4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 c. granulated sugar

1 c. milk, at room temperature

1 c. oil

1/3 tsp. vanilla powder (optional)

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

4-5 Tbsp. dark cocoa powder

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Using a hand-held electric mixer or wire whisk beat until the mixture is creamy and light in color.

Add milk and oil, and continue beating until well blended.

Add vanilla powder and baking powder to the mixture. Gradually add flour and then beat until the batter is smooth and the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

Divide the mixture into 2 equal portions. Keep one portion plain. Add cocoa powder into another and mix well. The color of the cocoa batter should be quite dark, so add more if needed.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Lightly grease the pan with oil. If you don't have non-stick baking pan, grease whatever pan you have then line it with parchment paper.

The most important part is assembling the cake batter in a baking pan. This is what you do. Scoop 3 heaped tablespoons of plain batter (you can also use a ladle that would hold 3 tablespoons) into the middle of the baking pan. Then scoop 3 tablespoons of cocoa batter and pour it in the center on top of the plain batter. NOTE: Do not spread the batter or tilt the pan to distribute the mixture. It will spread by itself and fill the pan gradually. Continue alternating the batters until you finish them. The pictures below will guide you through.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Do not open the oven door at least the first 20 minutes or the cake will shrink and will not rise. To check if the cake is ready, insert a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean when ready. Remove from the oven. Immediately run a small thin knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake, then invert the cake onto a cooking rack. Turn the cake back over and let cool.