Zebra Bundt Cake

A marble zebra bundt cake that’s got layers of vanilla and chocolate. A decadent and moist poundcake that’s not only a showstopper in terms of design but also with flavor. This sinful bundt cake is ideal to serve at brunches, parties, and family gatherings!

Good Friday morning to you all!

I swear Friday’s and Saturdays are the best mornings to have. And what better way is there than to greet you with a jumbo zebra bundt cake that’s loaded with layers of vanilla and chocolate cake?

I adapted this cake recipe from Naomi of Bakers Royale. Doesn’t she always have the most beautiful desserts? I think I could single handedly eat her entire website.

She used an ice cream scoop to make her layers for this bundt cake. I used 2 – 1/4 measuring cups. Because *ahem* some of us don’t have enough patience for that because let’s face it.. CAKE. The longer I take to get it in the oven, the longer i’ll have to wait to fill my belly. She gets amazingly beautiful lines from swirls of chocolate and vanilla. and I get some lines and a big lump of chocolate and the bottom of one end (which just happens to be the piece that I slice into first 😉 ) It all happens because I refuse to let the extra chocolate bit that I had go to waste. We have rules in this house, you know? And wasting chocolate would be breaking the #1 rule. And you know what, it’s worth compromising the zebra bundt cake for an extra bit of chocolate at the bottom. Agreed? Okay. It totally makes sense in the chocolatey world that my husband and I live in.

This bundt cake! I’m in Dallas this week visiting family thats in from out of town. And I just happen to bring this little number along with me, and guess what? It’s been a BIG hit! Everyone that’s tasted this cake so far has given it 2 thumbs way up!

For more precision with the zebra strips, it’s probably best to use and ice cream scoop. Also, it helps if you stick to the guidelines she gives you of adding only 2 cups of batter to the chocolate mixture. Somehow my crazy self ended up with more chocolate batter than the vanilla? That’s so NOT a bad thing in this house.

The only changes that I’ve made to her recipe are:

1. I didn’t glaze my cake. Which is a SIN in my house. If Anees and I were eating this whole cake, the glaze was mandatory. I may have even had to double it per the husbands request. Luckily I was making this cake for my mom and her sisters and they, like myself prefer a cake without chocolate glaze with their coffee.
2. I added some instant coffee granules. This is optional, but I feel the coffee flavor really helps intensify the chocolate. If you use just a teaspoon, you can’t even taste that it’s there. I on the other hand was a little more generous with the coffee granules. I used a full tablespoon and ended up with the most moist and delicious mocha zebra bundt cake. <– WIN! Mocha + Zebra cake = Happy Marzia.
3. I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup. Again this is personal preference. If you prefer a sweeter cake, add in the additional 1/4 cup. I’m trying to cut back on the sugar because well.. I’ve made us banana pudding [coming soon] and i’ve way way way over indulged in it.
4. I upped the vanilla. I love vanilla. And again, as a personal preference, I prefer to add a little extra vanilla to help mask the flavor from the 5 eggs that are going into this recipe.

So how are you spending this weekend?

Please tell me it’s with a big ol’ slice of zebra bundt cake.

The bundt pan i’ve used can be found here.

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Yield: 1 bundt cake

Zebra Bundt Cake

A marble zebra bundt cake that's got layers of vanilla and chocolate. A decadent and moist poundcake that's not only a showstopper in terms of design but also with flavor. This sinful bundt cake is ideal to serve at brunches, parties, and family gatherings!

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Ingredients

• 3 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided (see note)
• 1/2 cup natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
• 1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon coffee granules (see note)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted + cooled
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)

Instructions

1. Prepare a bundt pan by spraying it with cooking spray and dusting it with a 1-2 tablespoons of flour. Discard any remaining flour in bundt pan. Set bundt pan aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar, cocoa powder, coffee granules (if using) and water. Whisk until all the lumps have been worked out of the mixture. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the melted butter and sugar together for 1 minute. Add in the vanilla extract. Once combined, add the eggs and allow to beat one at a time until combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides as necessary. Once eggs have been incorporated, beat the mixture until it becomes lighter in color and fluffy. The cake batter should look like pancake batter but thinner.
4. With the mixer speed on low, add in the flour in 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the milk, repeating with 1/3 of the flour, the rest of the milk, and follow with the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture. Do not overmix the batter. Add 2 cups of this batter to the cocoa mixture in step 2. Stir just until combined. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350º F.
5. Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 measuring cup, pour two scoops of the vanilla mixture into bundt pan. Following with one scoop of chocolate mixture. Repeat and continue to alternate with vanilla and chocolate until the pan is filled.
6. Bake the zebra poundcake with 55-65 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes before inverting and cooling completely.

Notes

• The original recipe calls for a total of 2 1/2 cups of sugar, i've reduced it and find it to be perfect with 2 ¼ cups. If you prefer cakes on the sweeter side, feel free to up the quantity.
• Coffee granules are optional but adding 1 teaspoon really helps intensify the chocolate flavor. Feel free to leave it out. Also, you can add up to 1 tablespoon for a more mocha flavored layer for the bundt cake.
• The bundt pan I used for this recipe can be found here.
• Recipe was slightly adapted from Bakers Royale who adapted it from the pound cake recipe by Tish Boyle's The Cake Book
  

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