Monday, August 11, 2014

zebra bundt cake with chocolate glaze

I was looking through my collection of baking pans last week and I told myself it was time to do a little housekeeping and tidy things up a little.

Of course I came across quite a few pans that I had not used for a while, and among them was this bundt pan. I love bundt pans. Whenever I need to bake something pretty with little effort, I bake a bundt cake.

Today, feeling inspired, I decided to bake this zebra bundt cake that I had been thinking of baking for a while.
It's beautiful, isn't it?

The inside of the cake was just as pretty, as most zebra cakes tend to be.
And it was pretty effortless to make too.

Here are the step-by-step pictorial instructions on how to make this cake!

The first thing to do was to melt the butter.
While that happened, the cocoa powder, sugar and water were whisked together.
This was set aside.

The sugar was placed in a mixing bowl and the butter was added to it.
Using the paddle attachment of the mixer, I mixed this until the mixture was smooth.
The vanilla extract was added, followed by the eggs.
The flour and milk were added in the sequence flour-milk-flour-milk-flour. And mixed until just combined.
Two cups of the batter were transferred into the cocoa mixture and whisked to combine.
I used an ice cream scoop to ladle the batter (alternating between the light and dark batters) into a greased bundt pan.
The cake was baked and then cooled for about 15 minutes in the pan.
Before it was transferred onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the glaze, heat the cream until bubbles start to form at the edges. Add the chocolate and leave it for a couple of minutes.
Whisk until all the chocolate had melted. Let the mixture rest for about 10 to 15 minutes so it would slightly thicken.
Place a baking sheet below the wire rack, and use the whisk to drizzle the chocolate on the cake.
Just let the chocolate flow over the cake.
This is easy.
And oh-so-pretty.

And it is delicious!
Do you need any more reason to make this?

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RECIPE
Zebra Bundt Cake (Serves 12-16)
Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

Note: This is enough to fill one 12-cup Bundt pan. You can halve the recipe to fill a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Ingredients:
For the Cake:
3 cups (300g) cake flour
2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
½ teaspoon (3g) salt
2 ½ cups (500g) caster sugar, divided - I reduced the sugar by 50%
½ cup (59g) natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
6 tablespoons (90ml) water
1 ½ cups (340g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ teaspoons (7.5ml) vanilla extract
5 large eggs
½ cup (120ml) whole milk

For the Chocolate Glaze:
6 ounces (170g) bittersweet chocolate
⅔ cup (160ml) heavy cream

Method:
For the Cake:
1. Sift flour baking powder and salt into a bowl; set aside.
2. In a separate medium size bowl add in ½ cup of sugar, the cocoa powder, and water then whisk until mixture is smooth; set aside.
3. Place melted butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium high until mixture is blended, about 1 minute. Add in vanilla and beat until combined. Add and beat eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition. Once all eggs are added, beat mixture until it becomes light and fluffy (it will resemble pancake batter, but slightly thinner).
4. Turn mixer speed down to low and add the flour in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions and mixing just until blended.
5. Add 2 cups of the batter to the cocoa mixture and stir until blended.
6. Using an ice cream scoop, pour two scoops of vanilla mixture into pan. Now alternate and pour one scoop of chocolate mixture on top of vanilla mixture. Continue to alternate between vanilla and chocolate layers until bundt pan is filled.
7. Bake zebra pound cake for 50-60 minutes at 350°F (176°C) or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely.

For the Chocolate Glaze:
Place chocolate and cream in a pan over low heat and stir until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes before using.

To Assemble: 
Pour the glaze on top and let glaze set, about 30 minutes. Slice and serve.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe


15 comments:

  1. beautiful cake ! love your bakes

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  2. JOINED!!! :D

    Diana, where can I buy a Bundt pan? It's so hard to find in Malaysia. :( Any recommended online shops that do international shipping?

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  3. Diana, that is a gorgeous Zebra Bundt Cake! And wow, that chocolate glaze is really yummeh! I would be licking the whisk and bowl afterwards LOL!

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    Replies
    1. I did lick the whisk. But don't tell anyone. SHHHHHHHHHHHH!

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  4. Lovely chocolaty zebra bundt cake ... but aiyoh 340g butter ! ... 250 caster sugar ! Okay I'll just drool my saliva ... cannot even have a bite cos can't zip up my skirt or pants liao!

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    Replies
    1. This is a big cake though. It can easily feed 16. Easily.

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  5. Hi Diana! Can I check with you where did you get the heavy cream that you're using? Can i sub it with emborg whipping cream? TIA!!!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Xinyi, yes you should be able to use that. Those Presidents or Spingfield cream can be used too!

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  6. Hi Diana, this is a very pretty cake.
    Look sooooooo awesomely delicious with chocolate glaze.

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  7. Hi...lovely cake.. Wanna try baking.. The sugar is 250g?

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  8. Hi Diana I made this!!! Beautiful yunmy cake... Qn.... What type of cream do I use? Where can I get it.... I didnt use any this time...

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