So this is Zebra Cake (Zebrakuchen). I know that you can barely see the zebra stripes in the marbling, but if you look on the bottom piece on the right, you can see the stripes.
Zebrakuchen is definitely one of those “things of my childhood” – I think every kid in Germany since the late 1960s on has had Zebrakuchen — for birthday parties, the ubiquitous cake that people brought “for the kids” to family gatherings and Sunday afternoon cake and coffee. It’s fun and happy and …. and well sometimes it doesn’t really look like zebra stripes and them you can just call in Marble Cake and the funny thing is that you won’t actually know if the stripes are there until you cut into it, so sometimes you have to change you tune halfway through. “I meant to make it a Marble Cake!” The last one that I made was really stripey, this one not so much. It’s an easy cake in that you can make it in a cake pan or a loaf pan, it can be frosted or left plan. I doubled up on the espresso powder in the chocolate batter and it made it ultra-rich. Perfect for a snowy Friday afternoon.
Ingredients
For the main/vanilla batter
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup plain or vanilla greek yogurt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (not a typo)
1 and 3/4 cups buttermilk
For the chocolate batter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
To frost/glaze (optional)
option 1: 1 10-ounce package Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate melting wafers
option 2: juice from 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup), 1 to 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
You will need a 9-inch springform pan, a 10-cup bundt cake pan or two 8×4 loaf pans (with the last, you won’t use all the batter)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease your choice of cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper (obviously just grease the bundt pan; the parchment part isn’t possible.
Make the vanilla batter: Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. On medium-high speed, add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the yogurt and vanilla extract. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix this batter. The batter will be smooth, velvety, and slightly thick.
Make the chocolate batter: There will be around 8 cups of batter total. Transfer half of it to another bowl. Whisk in the 4 chocolate batter ingredients until combined. A few small lumps are ok.
Drop a large spoonful (I used 2 2-tablespoon scoops) of 1 batter in the center of the pan, I started with vanilla. Top with an equal amount of the other batter. Alternate spoonfuls on top of each other. Give the pan a shake to level it all out. If you are using a bundt pan, this is a little more difficult, but give it a go. If you are using two load pans, divide the batter equally between the two, and do not overfill (you may have some extra).
Bake for around 50-55 minutes or until the cakes is baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cake to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting.
To frost (optional): this cake does not need to be frosted at all; completely plain is great. If you feel you must frost or glaze it, here are two options
- melt the chocolate wafers from a 10-ounce bag melting wafers in a metal or glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water (or a double boiler). Once all melted, pour over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides. Let harden, about 10 minutes, and serve.
- Mix together the lemon juice and 1 cup confectioners sugar until smooth and lump free. If it is too loose, add in a little more confectioners’ sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until a pourable consistency. Pour over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides. Let harden, about 10 minutes, and serve.
