marble memories
chocolate & vanilla marble cake
this is one of those cakes that i always remember seeing lined up on the counters at (jewish) neighbourhood bakeries and which invariably seemed to be found at someone's home, be it on friday nights/saturday or the holidays. the bakery type, however, was always a parve (non dairy) one so that it could be enjoyed with whatever type of meal was served.
this version is dairy. it is a bit lighter than a poundcake in that it doesn't require that much butter and uses lower-in-fat buttermilk. of course, you can use [dairy] sourcream instead, which is often seen in this kind of cake. i will revisit this cake another time with an excellent parve version — just as good as this one but with no dairy ingredients involved.
ingredients:
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
3 eggs
1 3/4 c cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c buttermilk or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
5 tbsp [dutch process] cocoa powder
4 tbsp hot water
before starting, make sure:
- butter is softened
- eggs are at room temperature
- dry ingredients [except cocoa] have been sifted together
- sift cocoa separately to eliminate lumps
method:
preheat oven to 350 F. grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
cream butter and sugar. then add eggs one at a time and blend well after each addition.
preheat oven to 350 F. grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
cream butter and sugar. then add eggs one at a time and blend well after each addition.
mix flour, baking powder and salt together and sift them. separate this into 2 portions. mix in one addition and blend well.
mix vanilla into the buttermilk and add half of it and blend well again. repeat with the rest of the flour and buttermilk.
mix vanilla into the buttermilk and add half of it and blend well again. repeat with the rest of the flour and buttermilk.
the texture of the mixture will be ribbon like. make sure to mix it enough to achieve this texture.
remove about 1/3 of the batter to another bowl and keep aside.
in a small bowl or dish, mix the hot water into the cocoa tablespoon by tablespoon to make a thick paste. add this to the 1/3 of batter you separated and mix it well.
add dollops of the vanilla batter alternating with the chocolate to the greased loafpan. you should have 4 short rows of alternating batter or 2 long rows of 4 colours, depending on how you are looking at it.
enjoy!
remove about 1/3 of the batter to another bowl and keep aside.
in a small bowl or dish, mix the hot water into the cocoa tablespoon by tablespoon to make a thick paste. add this to the 1/3 of batter you separated and mix it well.
add dollops of the vanilla batter alternating with the chocolate to the greased loafpan. you should have 4 short rows of alternating batter or 2 long rows of 4 colours, depending on how you are looking at it.
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with a knife, swirl the batter. insert the knife deeply and drag it through but don't overdo it or you will lose the desired marbling you want.
bake for 50 minutes or until it is no longer wet in the middle.
remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes in the pan. remove to a rack to cool completely.
bake for 50 minutes or until it is no longer wet in the middle.
remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes in the pan. remove to a rack to cool completely.
enjoy!
18 comments:
in austria we like to make our gugelhupf just like that! a marmorgugelhupf is pure perfection!!
i always wondered if it has something to do with a yiddish kugel ... but wikipedia just told me that a kugel is indeed a completely different dish!! well, sometimes the similarities of yiddish/german just fools me!
great recipe though. i'll try that one in my gugelhupf-mould some time soon!
I like your step-to-step receipt very much! The photos are great and so is your cake!
tschoerda - hi there :) we call it kugelhopf. i've never heard of the one you mention (hint, hint! lol). sounds good.
i'm wouldn't be surprised if the original *g/k*ugelhopf is the root for the jewish type kugel dish we know today. ours is different in that it uses either a vegetable of some sort or pasta noodles. some versions were actually cooked in terracotta pots, like plant pots, and served sliced after baking.
thanks for your kind words. hope you enjoy it, if you try making the cake.
dolce - hi there, welcome and thanks for your nice comments. i like showing the step by step photos because i think it makes it easier to follow a recipe. hope to see you again :)
Hi Burekaboy,
Wowskie, marble cake, haven't seen that since I was a little squid! That's a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook classic!
Oh my! That looks soooooooooo good! Here I am trying to be good and you post something so delicious. You're killin' me here BB! :))
Believe it or not I never baked a marble bread before, now I see how and seems easy.
pammie - squid, LOL. glad i picked a good cake to feature :)
beenzzz - i tried to put a lower fat & sugar version!!! someone's gotta eat it! :)
roberto - that's so bizarre, i was actually thinking about you and then your message showed up! strange coincidence. marble cakes are very easy to make...and very good to eat!
BB - The fabulousness will drive me nuts! Adored the ketchup post and now you had to make a marble cake (sigh) :-D
Funny thing, I look at the pictures and can almost smell the chocolate baking. Yum! (I'm with beenzzz, though. This is a dangerous place to visit when a person's trying to watch what she eats. LOL)
smita - hey there ;) don't go going crazy on me now! LOL. just don't pour the ketchup on the marble cake, ok?
ostara - how else shall i make you come back for more?? :) if you try this one, i suggest trying to get hold of dutch processed cocoa. it's much stronger though regular works just fine. have to admit, this is a CALORIE REDUCED version and i actually had you in mind when i did it as i know you need to finish off that cake flour! in any case, it's a good everyday kind of cake to keep around when the hunger hits.
Wowza! This looks sooooo good. I'm starting to believe that your spouse/partner is one lucky person to experience all of these yummy foods.
Do you plan to settle in Singapore by any chance?????? I can be your guest everyday then :D
This is just so awesome!!!!!!
BTW, haven't seen you online these days..... hope all fine!!!
shelliza - thanks :) haven't had too many complaints, yet!
R - everything is okay :)) thanks for asking. if i were in singapore, i'd be eating YOUR food every day! LOL.
Yes they are BB, although I've been trying to be away right now from this kind of cakes because of the butter, but is always good to have a hint so when next time to try one of this comes up. Cheers!.
okay so there is butter milk too?
this looks so good, I wish you where like my neighbour or something...
roberto - :) LOL, but at least it's only a 1/2 c of butter!
pj - well, if we were neighbours then i would surely make sure you were well-fed! :) btw, buttermilk is considered "low-fat".
Hey, you were thinking of me! :-) It does look like something J would enjoy so maybe the two of us will give it a try when he's here this weekend. I'll keep you posted!
ostara - :P indeed i was, wondering what you would do with ALL that extra cake flour sitting in your pantry! lol. i think J would have fun making this. it's very easy, especially the swirling part to see what pattern you end up with after it has baked. just don't overdo the swirl as it doesn't come as nicely. hope you enjoy it, if you make it.
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