DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE MARBLE CAKE
PG tested
When we tested this recipe, the cake was done in 70 minutes and it could have been taken out 5 minutes sooner.
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into cups and leveled off
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 4 large eggs, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup whole milk, at room temperature
4 ounces best-quality white chocolate, melted and cooled
¼ teaspoon orange or peppermint oil, optional
4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pull out an insulated baking sheet or stack two regular baking sheets one on top of the other. Line (top) baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, dust with flour and tap out the excess; set it on the baking sheet(s). Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.
Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter on medium speed for 3 minutes, or until smooth. Add sugar and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes, scraping sides. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for a minute after each one goes in. The batter may curdle, but you needn’t worry.
Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in the vanilla. Still on low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing only until each addition is incorporated.
Scrape half of the batter into another bowl. Using a flexible spatula, gently stir the
white chocolate into half of the batter. If you’re using the orange or peppermint oil, stir it in as well. Stir the dark chocolate into the other half of the batter.
Using a spoon or scoop, drop dollops of the light and dark batters randomly into the prepared pan — don’t think too much about the pattern — and then plunge a table knife deep into the batter and zigzag it across the pan. It’s best to move forward and not to backtrack. Don’t overdo it — 6 to 8 zigzags should suffice.
Bake cake for 80 to 90 minutes, or until a tester inserted deep into the center comes out clean. (My cake was done in 70 minutes, and I might have taken it out 5 minutes sooner.) Check the cake at the halfway mark, turn it around and, if it’s getting too brown, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it rest for 10 minutes, then unmold it, turn right side up on the rack and let come to room temperature.
Storing: Wrapped well, the cake will keep at room temperature for up to 4 days. It can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost it in its wrapper.
Makes 8 servings. — Adapted from “Baking Chez Moi: Recipes From My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere” by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; October 2014)