DOUBLE DELIGHT
Fancy marble cake
INGREDIENTS
200g butter 250g sugar 300g all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt 5 eggs 1 cup buttermilk (see note) 113g bittersweet chocolate 1-2 tsp vanilla extract ¼-½ cup milk
RECIPE
Take the butter out of the fridge and cut it into about eight small blocks. Keep it at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes.
Using an electric beater, whip the butter until it is light and creamy. Add the sugar, scrape down the sides of the bowl regularly and continue to whip it until the mixture is light and creamy. Add the eggs one by one and whip the mixture. Incorporate the mixture from the sides of the bowl every now and then.
Once all the eggs have been combined, sieve the flour along with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set it aside.
Chop up the chocolate and using a double bath or microwave (at 30 second intervals), melt the chocolate. Stir it occasionally as it melts.
Into the egg mixture, fold in the flour mixture and buttermilk – alternating these in batches. Add the vanilla extract once the flour mixture and buttermilk are combined.
Set aside about one to 1½ cups of the vanilla cake batter. Make sure that the melted chocolate is cool to the touch. Fold the chocolate into the portioned cake batter. If the chocolate cake batter is too thick, add about quarter to half a cup of regular milk until the chocolate batter reaches the same consistency as the vanilla batter.
Line an 8½ inch loaf pan with parchment. Only the bottom is enough. First, add a thin layer of vanilla batter into the pan.
Place about six to eight dollops of chocolate cake batter on top and cover it with the vanilla cake batter. Then swirl the layers.
Add more chocolate dollops with the remaining batter, top it off with the balance vanilla cake batter and swirl.
Bake at 180°C for 30-40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
NOTE Buttermilk is essential for the cake to rise properly. It can be made at home. To make one cup of buttermilk, add a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar into a cup of milk. The acid will curdle the milk.