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MARBLE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING




    I was craving for a simple cake without getting into the fuss of whipping gluten-free or a vegan allergen cakes…went back to my memory lane and thought of this marble cake which I used to whip quite regularly decades ago, and after experimenting with a tons of new things, sometimes you wanna go back to those simple pleasures which were so familiar.


    When I first started baking as a little girl, marble cake was one of the first things I learnt from my mum. At times we would also play with colours to make those rainbow swirls in the cake. When I was whipping up this cake I had those flashbacks and vivid memories of the time I use to spend with my mum when I was a little girl. It’s truly such a family favourite and for a good reason! It’s a treat for all senses - it looked beautiful and tasted divine, with the classic flavours of chocolate and vanilla topped with the luscious chocolate buttercream frosting that’s as good as a warm and comforting hug!



    I planned to serve and photograph it with icing, as soon as I pulled this cake out of the oven, the marble effect looked too captivating to not to capture. So I took the picture when it was still warm without any frosting ( swipe left to see that pic), but by the time it cooled and I frosted it, the sun moved and I got a bit stressed.... but it was actually fine, as the moment I clicked a shot, it looked gorgeous! “That’s the one” I said to myself, and sat down to enjoy this luscious and super delicious cake!

    Though I must admit this isn’t the healthiest cake but it truly serves your indulgence cravings. I sooo enjoyed baking and digging into this heavenly cake - cutting the first slice and seeing the contrasting swirls is a true delight that you must experience too — learn how to make this amazingly delicious cake and enjoy those simple pleasures!!


    PREP TIME: 20 minutes BAKE TIME: 25 minutes PASSIVE TIME: 2 hours FROSTING TIME: 20 minutes SERVES: 12-5 slices




    INGREDIENTS


    For Cake:

    • 1 3/4 cup cake flour

    • 3 eggs, room temperature

    • 185g unsalted butter, room temperature

    • 1/2 cup whole milk/buttermilk, room temperature

    • 1 cup caster sugar

    • 2 tsp vanilla extract

    • 2 1/4 tsp baking powder

    • 1/2 tsp salt

    • 1 1/2 tbsp dutch process cocoa powder

    For Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

    • 125g unsalted butter, room temperature (soft but not sticking to fingers)

    • 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

    • 1/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder

    • 2 tbsp cold milk or cream

    • 1/6 tsp salt

    • 1 tsp vanilla extract

    METHOD


    For Cake:


    1. Grease and line a 25cm long x 4cm wide loaf pan with parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

    2. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla on medium high speed until light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time while the mixer is still running, whisk well after each addition until well combined, at least 3-4 minutes. Add milk and blend on low speed to mix with butter mixture.

    3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Remove bowl from the stand, and fold in half of the flour, once its well combined fold in rest of the flour until well combined.

    4. Take 1/3 of the cake batter in a bowl and fold in the sifted cocoa powder.

    5. In a prepared pan, pour half of the white batter, drop spoonful of the chocolate batter on top leaving a little gap in each spoonful of batter dropped. Cover it with rest of the white batter. With a clean table knife, create a swirling pattern by running it through the batter to create a marble effect. Do not over do it as your swirls will mix too much and your swirls will be lost.

    6. Bake it in pre-heated oven for 22-25 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.

    7. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out on wire rack to cool completely before frosting.


    For Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:


    1. In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add confectioners sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, milk and salt with mixer running on low. Once mixed, increase the speed to medium high and whisk until light and fluffy. Taste the frosting, if needed add a pinch more of salt if the frosting is too sweet. Add 1 or 2 tablespoon of sugar if the frosting is bit soft, add bit more milk if the frosting is too thick.

    2. On a cooled cake, spread the frosting all over sides and top with the offset spatula or a pallet knife. Serve immediately.


    COOK'S NOTES:


    • I used cake flour to make a fluffy soft texture of the cake but if you do not have cake flour you can make it at home. Measure one cup of all purpose flour, remove two tablespoons of flour from the measured cup and replace it with two tablespoons of cornflour. Sift the flours together 3-4 times as it’s an important step to fully incorporate with each other.

    • Adding cornflour helps make the cake light and soft in texture. All-purpose flour has more protein than the cake flour which makes the cake bit denser in texture like a bread.

    • I used dutch processed cocoa powder which is alkaline treated. It’s best to use dutch processed cocoa powder for richer chocolate taste and deeper luscious colour.

    • Always use the cocoa powders as mentioned in the recipe for best results.

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    SPICED CARROT AND ORANGE CAKE



      Had some friends coming over last week for tea and that’s enough reason for you to whip up something so decadent and delicious. Made Spiced Orange and Carrot Walnut Cake with zesty cream cheese frosting... I make this often as carrot cake is a family favorite. Its zesty fluffy dreamy cream cheese frosting pairs just right to cut through the sweetness of carrot cake.


      It certainly is a crowd pleaser dessert which goes so well whether you serve it for tea or as a dessert...it’s super delicious!! I topped it up with basil shoot and leaves which are blooming beautifully in my garden.


      The cake plate I used is a mystery...I must admit, I bought it few years back, but somehow I wasn’t very convinced with my purchase and it was hiding behind in my crockery cupboard, pulled it out and thought of using it the other day...and to my surprise it just looked an absolute stunner. So so happy that I chose this to present my cake...what do you say??

      SERVES: 16-20 servings

      PREP TIME: 20 minutes

      BAKING TIME: 30 minutes



      INGREDIENTS

      • 175g unsalted butter, room temperature

      • 1 cup soft brown sugar, firmly packed

      • 3 eggs

      • 1 naval orange, zested and juiced (1/3 cup)

      • 2 medium carrots, washed peeled and grated

      • 2 cups self-raising flour

      • 1/2 tsp baking soda

      • 1/2 tsp baking powder

      • 1/2 tsp salt

      • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

      • 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

      • 1 cup walnuts, chopped

      Cream Cheese Frosting:

      • 4 oz/125g cream cheese (full fat), room temperature

      • 95g butter salted, room temperature

      • 1/2 cup icing sugar

      • 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

      • Zest of 1 orange

      For Garnish:

      • 6-8 Dehydrated orange circles

      • 6-8 walnut halves

      • 5-6 Fresh basil leaves



      MET

      1. Preheat oven to 180°C, grease and prepare the 9” ring pan with butter.

      2. In an electric mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar and zest together with paddle attachment until it’s light and creamy in texture, add eggs one at a time and beat them for 2 minutes.

      3. Add orange juice and mix for another minute, don’t worry if the mixture curdles.

      4. Remove bowl from machine.In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder and nutmeg; now add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture in two batches and fold with spatula to combine well and make lump-free batter.

      5. Fold carrots and walnuts in batter until well combined, and take care not to over mix it.

      6. Pour the batter in greased and prepared pan, bake it in pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the the skewer comes out clean. Leave it in pan for 10 minutes, remove on cooling rack to cool cpmpletely.

      To Make Frosting:

      1. In an electric mixer bowl, whisk the cream cheese for a minute till it’s smooth and creamy; add butter and whisk for 2-3 minutes until the butter and cream cheese are smooth and fluffy in texture.

      2. Add sugar, vanilla and zest, blend for another 1-2 minutes until well combined and has thick spreadable consistency.

      3. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake and decorate with extra chopped walnuts, dried orange slices and basil leaves.

      4. Let it set in the fridge for 20-30 minutes and serve.


      COOK'S NOTES:

      • Remove the cake out of the mould or baking pan after leaving it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. If you remove immediately, it will break and if you leave it too long in pan, the cake will sweat and will have a soggy crust.

      • The cake should be completely cooled before frosting it.


      CAMEL MILK PISTACHIO CAKE



        A time for family gatherings and celebrations, November 18th commemorates the 369th anniversary of independence from Portugal.

        This day also represents the National Day since Qaboos bin Said al Said’s rise to the throne of the Sultanate, as well as his birthday. During this trifecta of a holiday, you’ll see the red, white, and green of Oman’s flag waving freely. These colors have come to represent the geography of Oman in green, the Imamate leaders of the past in white, and the Sultanate itself in red.

        Hence raised the toast in celebration of Sultanate’s big day by making a camel milk pistachio cake, keeping the colours of the Omani flag in mind. The cake was absolutely divine with a super soft texture, and drool-worthy, delicious cream cheese frosting.


        SERVES: 10-12 servings

        PREP TIME: 10 minutes

        BAKING TIME: 20 minutes



        INGREDIENTS

        • 1 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled

        • 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

        • 1 cup granulated sugar

        • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder

        • 1/2 tsp baking soda

        • 3/4 tsp salt

        • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

        • 3 egg whites, room temperature

        • 2 tbsp full cream labneh, room temperature

        • 1/4 cup full fat Laban (buttermilk), room temperature

        • 3/4 cup whole camel milk, room temperature

        • 1 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

        • 3/4 tsp almond extract

        • 1-2 drops of green food colouring (optional)

        For Cream Cheese Frosting:

        • 8 oz cream cheese (Philadelphia slab), room temperature

        • 185g butter, room temperature

        • 1 tsp vanilla extract

        • 1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar



        METHOD

        1. Grease and line two 8” round baking tins with parchment paper.

        2. Using pulse settings on your processor grind pistachios to a fine crumb. If you grind too much it will form into a pistachio spread. So be careful not to over blend.

        3. In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, add ground pistachios reserving a tablespoon for garnishing later. Mix them well and keep aside.

        4. Cream the butter and sugar in a handheld or stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg whites and whisk on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. In a small bowl, using a hand whisk, whisk labneh and laban together to combine well. Add the laban mix, almond extract and vanilla extract to butter mix, and beat them together.

        5. Now add half milk and half of the dry ingredients to the bowl and give a quick blend until combined. Add the rest of milk and dry ingredients and give a quick blend again until just combined altogether.

        6. Pour the batter in the prepared pans and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean. Leave in pan for 10 minutes, take them out on wire rack to cool completely.

        7. For cream cheese frosting, in a stand mixer bowl, cream butter and vanilla extract, until pale and creamy approximately 2 mins; add cream cheese and blend until smooth and combined well with butter. Add confectioners sugar and beat to thick and fluffy consistency, about 2-3 minutes.

        8. Shave-off the bumps of the cakes to level them for layering, place one layer of cake on top of the cake stand or cake board, keeping the cut side up, add big dollops of cream cheese icing and level it with off-set knife, place the second layer of cake on top keeping cut side down and smooth side up. Spread the rest of icing on sides and top of the cake; decorate with reserved pistachio crumbs and fresh flowers if you wish.


        COOK'S NOTES:

        • Cow’s milk can be replaced in the recipe if you can get hold of the camel milk.

        • Please use full fat milk for the soft and spongy texture of the cake.


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