Choco-Vanilla marble cake

Marble cake is a classic teatime treat, its easy to prepare and also wonderful to look at!! Two cake batters are poured alternatively in the middle of the cake pan and it is then blended slightly with a knife or tooth pick to create a marble pattern. This creates a striped pattern similar to the Zebra.

The choco and vanilla layers fascinated me from childhood days. You can add different flavors to the same recipe. I once made an orangle chocolate marble cake and that was yumm too. Its like a double treat, you can enjoy both the flavors in a single bite. This recipe is also very easy to put together and can be prepared anytime as a quick evening snack or even for an elaborate special occasion.

Baking a cake may look like a tedious job, but trust me it just needs little patience and correct measurements, also the lovely smell it leaves in your kitchen for days makes all the effort totally worth it :)

Ingredients:-

Maida- 2 cups
Sugar- 1 cup
Vegetable Oil- 1 cup
Milk- 1 cup
Eggs - 4
Vanilla Essence- 1 tsp
Baking Powder- 3 tsp
Cocoa Powder- 3 tsp
Baking soda- Pinch
Handful of Choco chips (Optional)

Method:-

Begin by pre-heating the oven to 180 C.

Sift together maida, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl.

Take the eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat it nicely. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract and milk to this and whisk again to make a fluffy batter.

Slowly add maida into the wet mixture while mixing continuously using the cut and fold method until you get a smooth batter.

Divide the batter into two bowls. In one portion add the cocoa powder and mix thoroughly. In the other portion you can add choco chips for more flavour (Toss them in maida before adding them to the batter) This is optional, I like having some crunch in cakes.

In a medium baking dish or a loaf pan grease the base with butter and dust with flour.

Now take about 1/4 cup of the vanilla batter and pour in the center of the cake pan, next pour the same amount (about 1/4 cup) of the brown chocolate batter on top of the vanilla batter and in the center of the pan. Repeat the process alternating the batter. The batter will spread creating the zebra print.

Using a knife or toothpick, swirl the batter to create a marbling effect.

Place the cake pan into the preheated oven and bake for 30 to 45 minutes until the tester when inserted into the cake comes out clean. 

Once the cake is baked, remove from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 5 minutes before you an invert, cut and serve. 

Serve the delicious cake along with breakfast or as a tea time snack with a cup of coffee!!

*While creating the marbling effect on the cake ensure that it isn’t done too much, or else the chocolate flavor will dominate the cake.