Vanilla or chocolate? With this cake you can have both and unleash your inner artist to create the marble effect.
Makes one loaf
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
225g butter, softened
225g caster sugar
275g self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp hot water
For the icing:
25g butter
15g cocoa powder
1 tbsp milk
100g icing sugar
40g white chocolate (optional)
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Lightly grease a standard loaf tin and line it with baking paper, making sure the edge of the paper is above the level of the tin.
Measure the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs, milk and vanilla extract into a large bowl and beat with a hand-held mixer for a few minutes. Spoon around half of the mixture into a separate bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and hot water together, stirring until it is a smooth liquid. Allow it to cool a little, then add it to one of the bowls of cake mixture, mixing until it is integrated into the mix. This will form your chocolate cake layers.
Spoon the vanilla and chocolate cake mixtures artistically into the loaf tin. By all means aim for perfect, concentric circles, but don't be disappointed if your final pattern is more abstract. Once all of both mixtures is in the tin, gently level the surface with a spatula.
Bake for around 50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. If you don't have a skewer, check that the cake is springy to the touch and assume it will be okay. Allow it to cool in the tin for a few minutes.
Remove from the tin by pulling on the overlapping edges of the baking paper lining. Peel off the lining paper and place the cake on a wire rack to cool.
To make the icing, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the cocoa and stir, cooking on low to medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the milk and icing sugar, then turn off the heat and mix the icing thoroughly. It should thicken. Spread evenly on top of the cake.
Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of water, adding a teaspoon of vegetable oil if the chocolate is too thick. Drizzle or splatter it over the top of the chocolate icing and leave it to set.
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