Zebra Cake – Vanilla and Chocolate

Festive Zebra Cake

I fell in love with this beautiful cake that I discovered on an Italian YouTube channel called “Ricette dolci.” It can be served for a festive meal like Mother’s Day or as a birthday snack. 🎂

 

 

 

 

To make this recipe you will need three bowls : two medium-sized ones and a large one.

 

Step 1 : The Batter

1. In the large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs together.
2. Add the oil and milk, then mix well.
3. Incorporate the flour and baking powder. Stir until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous batter.
4. Divide this batter equally between the two medium-sized bowls, approximately 12 oz (350 grams) per bowl.
5. In one of the halves, add the cocoa powder and chocolate chips. You may add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to make the batter more fluid.
6. In the other half, add one tablespoon of liquid vanilla extract.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

Step 2 : Shaping the Cake

1. Butter a round cake pan  with a diameter of approximately 9.44 inches (24 cm).
2. Place 3 tablespoons of the vanilla batter in the center of the pan. Allow the batter to spread.
3. Then, add 2 tablespoons of the cocoa batter on top, still in the center.
4. Continue alternating 2 tablespoons of vanilla batter and 2 tablespoons of cocoa batter. The batter will spread as you go, creating vanilla and chocolate circles. When there is no more batter left, using a pointed tool, pierce the edge of the cake and draw a straight line toward the center. Repeat this several times, spacing out the lines, as if forming a flower. Feel free to watch the recipe video to better understand the technique (my first YouTube video 😀)!

Step 3 : Baking

1. Bake the cake for 20 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius), on the second rack level with the fan on.
2. Remove it from the oven as soon as it finishes baking.

Gisou’s Tips and Tricks

• If spelt flour is not available, you can substitute it with all-purpose flour.
• Spelt grains, also known as dinkel wheat, is an ancient wheat variety that has been cultivated since 8 000 BC. It comes in two varieties. One is the white spelt flour which has the bran and germ removed, while the other kind is whole spelt flour, which is similar to whole wheat flour in that it has the germ and bran intact.
• Adding chocolate chips to the batter adds an extra touch of indulgence to this cake.