On Sunday, our part of the world woke up to an overcast sky,
cool breeze followed by an unexpected but very welcome downpour that settled
the dust, glistened the leaves and the Earthy scent lifted up the spirits.
Everything looked so clean, fresh and pure! There is something magical about
the rain. An ecstasy pervades the soul every time clouds rumble and rain.
Since the morning started on such a beautiful note the day
had to be good. In the happy state of mind, I wanted to bake. There was a special
cake that I wanted to bake since long but never really went ahead with it and
there couldn’t have been a better occasion to try it out. I knew my kids would
love it….. It was a Zebra cake!
The magic lies in arranging the batters! |
ZEBRA CAKE
(Adapted from here )
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
4 eggs
1 cup sugar (powdered)
1 cup milk
1 cup oil
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
Method
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line an 8
inch round cake tin.
Beat eggs and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add oil, mix well. Add milk (reserve two tablespoons of milk
for chocolate batter) and vanilla extract. Mix till well blended.
Sieve together all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients mixing well till the
batter is smooth.
Divide the batter into two parts. In one portion, add cocoa
powder dissolved in two tablespoons of milk. Keep the other portion plain.
Ladle the batters. This is the most important step. Use two
separate ladles for the two batters. First pour a ladleful of the plain batter
in the middle of the cake tin. Then pour a ladleful of the chocolate batter in
the center on the top of the plain batter. Repeat this process till the batters
are over.
Do not tilt the pan. The batter will spread itself and fill
the pan.
Bake for 40 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the center
comes out clean.
Cool and slice.
My daughter squealed with joy when she saw a slice of stripy
cake in her plate. She was thoroughly amused by the stripes. And I was so
enamoured by the beauty of the cake that the very next day I made the egg less
version keeping in my mind my parents.
ZEBRA CAKE (Egg
less)
(Adapted from here)
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 ¼ cups warm water
½ cup canola oil
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
A pinch of salt
(To be added to the chocolate batter)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
½ teaspoon instant coffee
¼ cup warm water
Method
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line an eight
inch round cake pan.
Mix sugar, oil, milk, water, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
Sieve all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and
salt.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients mixing till smooth.
Divide the batter into two parts. Keep one part plain.
To prepare chocolate batter, add cocoa powder, coffee powder
and sugar to warm water. Add this to the other part of the batter. Mix well.
Ladle the batters. This is the most important step. Use two
separate ladles for the two batters. First pour a ladleful of the plain batter
in the middle of the cake tin. Then pour a ladleful of the chocolate batter in
the center on the top of the plain batter. Repeat this process till the batters
are over.
Do not tilt the pan. The batter will spread itself and fill
the pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the
center comes out clean.
Cool and slice.
Beautiful cake Namita!! The rings on the top look so pretty!!
ReplyDeleteOh my! this looks so yum and picture perfect. Do visit my blog and participate in my event with giveaways. http://merrytummy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/one-year-recap-event-and-3-giveways.html
ReplyDeletePerfectly done Zebra cake..I am sure everybody loved the stripes!! Just wanted to know which cake was yummier..egg or eggless??
ReplyDeleteHi Amrita, both the versions were yummy. The one without eggs was very soft. The one with eggs had a better sponge.
DeleteLooks so colorful and moist, Love your blog! I'm happy to follow you, you can visit my blog when you find time :)
ReplyDeletehttp://kitchenista-welcometomykitchen.blogspot.com
The stripes on this cake could give any zebra an inferiority complex! You have layered the batter so well. And so thoughtful to provide two versions too!
ReplyDeleteLovely, lovely, lovely!
Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to try this Zebra cake ever since I saw it online somewhere and I tried it once but without much luck....yours looks perfect! Good job and thanks for both the egg and reggless versions...
ReplyDeleteLuv,
Manju
http://manjuseatingdelights.blogspot.com/
Simply love this one, I saw this one in Youtube video while I was making my marble cake. Your cake photo has made me so tempted, need to bake one this weekend.
ReplyDeleteChitrangada
http://www.colorandspices.com/
beautiful
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe ! Looks yummy & is economical as well ! Will try it out ASAP !
ReplyDeleteBeautiful recipe Namita, my hudband can't eat eggs I'll try it.
ReplyDeletePaola
The cakes look yummy Namita ! But not only you are a wonderful cook, you seems to be a magical writer too. Your note on the arrival of rains was so livid that anyone could feel the breeze and rain even in a dessert :) Beautiful !
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog and the kind words that made me smile!
ReplyDeleteHi Namita.. I tried the eggless version of the cake.
ReplyDeleteI have used all the ingredients mentioned in the recipe properly only with one difference, i use sunflower oil instead of canola oil. But the batter became too runny and both the cake colors were mixed so no zebra lining. The cake took 1.10 hrs to bake and it was dense. It was also bit oily.
Hello, I am trying to figure out what could have gone wrong in the recipe. If the batter was runny, i think start with 3/4 cup of water. Add more only if the batter feels dry or hard. The batter for this cake is thin but not very thin. Avoid mixing the batter too hard. Stir till the ingredients are just well combined. Because the batter was runny, it must have taken longer to bake.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to tell you that every time there is a disaster, it gives a heart ache but it also helps to understand baking better. Believe me, your next trial will make you smile!
Hi namita.. I tried Eggless receipe. The cake came out perfect. I shared the photo of cake on cal grp, it was super hit. Thank you. can I share your blog?
ReplyDeleteHello Mitali, I am so happy that the cake came out well. You must have really followed the instructions well and ladled the batter perfectly. Sure You may share my blog link. Thank You for visiting and trying my recipes.
DeleteHello Mitali, I am so happy that the cake came out well. You must have really followed the instructions well and ladled the batter perfectly. Sure You may share my blog link. Thank You for visiting and trying my recipes.
DeleteHi I tried this cake eggless version n it was delicious.... So soft n spongy.... Thanks for the awesome recipe
ReplyDeleteThank You Khyati, I am happy that you enjoyed the recipe..:)
DeleteHi Namita,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to try your recipe since long. so today i decided to bake eggless version of zebra cake. i have put the batter to be baked will post you the end result soon. my only concern is the batter became very runny and the chocolate version became more runny after putting the chocolate, coffee, 1/4 cup warm water mix. curious to know its only my batter became runny or its like that only.
Hello Neha, The batter of zebra cake is thinner than the regular cake batter. It is a little runny. This helps in getting layers perfectly. I hope your cake comes out well. Do keep me updated.
DeleteHello Namita ji,
ReplyDeleteFirst I would like to mention your blog is yummy n inspirational ...when I read your recipe I always thank God that I came across your blog.
I tried eggkess version n my cake came out perfect ..I left the cake covered overnight after it came to room temperature but next day my cake upper
was moist n sticky ..pls help me knowing why this happened and also I would like to know if I use butter instead of oil what will be the measurements.
Thanks waiting for your reply.
Deepika
Hello Deepika, A big thank you for liking my blog :)
ReplyDeleteDeepika, the egg less cakes tend to get moist. The crust specially becomes very tender and soft. It even sticks to the knife while slicing. Nothing to worry, this is normal.
If you want to replace oil with butter, take melted butter. Measurements will remain the same. Happy Baking!
Hello Binu, do not skip lemon juice. You can use white vinegar instead. It will react with baking soda and baking powder and help the cake in rising well and becoming soft and spongy. Hope you bake it soon and enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteHello Binu, I always pass cocoa powder through a strainer and add water just to get a paste. Add more water later to get a runny paste. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteHi Namita. I baked this cake today and made the mistake of not splitting the batter evenly. so i had more of vanilla bit and less of the chocolate. also, i ended up baking for nearly 55 mins! but the end result was superb. thank you for your website, the pictures, the recipes, and the inspiration! Deepa
ReplyDeleteHello Deepa, I am so happy that you visited my blog and baked the cake. I am so happy that the cake came out well. Thank you for your kind words Deepa :)
DeleteExcellent recipe cake turned out to be very spongy and taste was awesome
ReplyDeleteHi! So happy to know that you loved baking the cake. Thank you so much 😊
Delete