Monday, November 23, 2009

ZEBRA CAKE MY WAY

Zebra Cake? huh? I had no clue that this kind of cake existed until i stumbled upon AZ Cookbook. What a beautiful cake. I wanted to make the cake ASAP but didn't have all the ingredients available but i have a lot of cake mix box.

I figured why not try the cakemix, if i fail then i'll do it again by following the original recipe. So here goes my experiment.

Ingredients:

1 Yellow Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/3 C oil
1 1/3 C water
3 T Hersheys Cocoa Powder
1 square of Bakers semi sweet chocolate (grate the chocolate by using microplane)

1. Follow the cakemix instructions
2. Divide the batter into 2 portions.
3. Keep one portion plain, then add the cocoa powder and grated chocolate into the other portion. Mix well until.
***It is imperative to follow this next step to achieve the zebra effect. Do not stop and wait until the previous batter spreads. 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 up all the batter.***

4. Scoop 3 tablespoons of plain batter (you can also use a ladle that would hold 3 tablespoons) into the middle of the greased baking pan. Then scoop 3 tablespoons of cocoa batter and pour it in the center on top of the plain batter.

5. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Do not open the oven door to avoid the cake to 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.


***WELL..THE CAKE WAS A SUCCESS, BEAUTIFUL AND MOIST. I WILL MAKE A GANACHE OR BUTTERCREAM FROSTING THE NEXT TIME I'LL MAKE THIS***

****ALSO, I HAD AN EPIPHANY MOMENT AS I WAS SLICING THE CAKE. I WILL DO THIS AGAIN FOR OUR CHRISTMAS PARTY BY USING CHRISTMAS FOOD COLORS! OH I CAN'T WAIT TO DO THIS AGAIN****