“This cake was a standard on our Sunday coffee table and has a lot of nostalgia for me. It is quick to make, moist and flavourful, and the marble pattern was always fascinating to me as a child,” says former contestant on The Great British Bake Off, Jurgen Krauss.
Marble cake
Ingredients:
(Serves 12-24, depending on tin size. The amounts given are for a loaf tin (950g) or a Bundt tin. For a bigger Bundt tin, double the amounts and bake for 15 minutes longer.)
For the batter:
125g unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature
2tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated
180g caster sugar
250g plain flour
8g baking powder
125ml whole milk
For the chocolate batter:
10g cocoa powder
15g caster sugar
25ml double cream
¼tsp ground cloves
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan/gas mark 5.
2. Put the butter in a bowl and, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the balloon whisk, beat the butter until it is light and pale. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolks, alternating with the sugar bit by bit, and whisk for another 15 minutes until the butter and sugar mix is very frothy and white.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Alternate adding the flour and milk bit by bit to the batter while whisking on a low speed.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold the egg whites into the butter and flour mixture.
5. For the chocolate batter, take one third of the plain batter and put it into a separate bowl. Fold in the ingredients for the chocolate batter. Put the two batters in a greased 950g Bundt tin or a loaf tin, starting with the vanilla batter, then add a layer of chocolate batter and finish with vanilla batter. Use a fork to create the marble effect by pulling it through the layers of batter with a swirling motion. Bake for about one hour; the cake should start separating from the tin and a skewer inserted into the cake should come out clean. Cover with foil if the top of the cake starts getting too dark.
6. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes before attempting to take it out of the tin.
7. This cake keeps very well for up to a week in an airtight container and for the first three days its flavour actually improves.
German Baking: Cakes, Tarts, Traybakes And Breads From The Black Forest And Beyond by Jurgen Krauss is published by Kyle Books on August 31, priced £26. Photography by Maja Smend.
