I love traditional cakes that’s filled lusciously with rich buttery aroma. And butter cakes are nevertheless one of my most frequently baked favourites. To give the traditional butter cakes some twist, additional flavourings are incorporated which resulted in this Zebra Butter Cake. The name originates from the darker and lighter stripes patterns within the cake.
Even though I’ve baked butter cakes or pound cakes numerous times, but I realised there are still instances when that’s a denser layer of the cake appearing at the bottom of the cakes. Maybe some of you would have encounter this problem too at one time or another. I reckon this results from the butter not being beaten sufficiently till light and fluffy stage, hence the butter layer wasn’t allowed to expand properly, forming a denser layer at the bottom.
With this cake, a whole slab of butter was used and beaten for a good while for at least 10 minutes till it appears very light in colour. Baked in a 9-inch round tin, the tall layer was baked adequately for 60 minutes (in my oven) and the cake was completely baked with very tender crumbs and texture. Compiled together is an additional hinge of chocolatety flavour which forms the darker stripes.
And easy peasey is the making of this cake ! So here you go with the recipe ~~
- 250g butter
- 200g castor sugar
- 4 eggs
- 125g plain flour, sifted
- 125g cake flour, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 60ml milk
- 20g cocoa powder, mixed with 2 tbsp of water
Cream the butter and sugar together till very light and fluffy (when the butter appears much lighter in colour.)
Add the eggs one at a time, creaming well after each addition to ensure the egg is fully incorporated before adding the next.
Add in the sifted flour in 3 batches, alternating between adding the milk and ending with the flour.
Divide the batter equally into 2 bowls. Add the cocoa mixture into one of the bowl and using a spatula, mix well till the cocoa is evenly incorporated. Spoon 1 tbsp of white batter into a greased and lined 9 inch round tin. Allow it to spread slightly before adding another tbsp of the chocolate batter onto the middle of the white batter.
Continue the same until all the batter are used up. Tap lightly or using a spatula to level the cake batter in the tin.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degrees C for approximately 55 to 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Remove and leave to cool before slicing and serve.
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