Aren't they cute? And no, zebra is not my favourite animal. I love giraffes and these gentle giants remind me of someone who sparked this soft spot for the spotted darlings. Every time I see a giraffe, I would be reminded of Y. After the giraffes, zebras come in a close second. I am simply mesmerised by their stripes...
Back to today's bake. My girl asked one day if I knew how to bake zebra cakes. Then I saw Aunty Yochana's post about her unsuccessful attempt in making the stripes. So, I searched the internet for a suitable recipe.
My first stop was Kitchen Capers and I found one very easily. However, the recipe uses emulsifier and I went about looking for another workable recipe. Then I came across one at Recipezaar which uses yogurt and no butter. However, there wasn't any reviews so I thought I should search some more. I landed on Farida's Azerbaijani Cookbook and found another easy recipe. Just so you know, there are various versions of Zebra Cakes using ingredients from cheese to crackers :S
It appears that many bloggers have tried it and gave the thumbs up. So I set out to try it, all the while praying that all will go well. On the "surface", I thought I did well. Perhaps I was a little too enthusiastic about chocolate as there was simply so much to use. Looking at the photo, you'll understand what I mean. It's a far cry from the original, definitely.
I'm sure I have over-beaten the batter as well. There were several cracks at the top. As I was too afraid to disturb the stripes, I didn't bang the pan against the table to remove the air bubbles. As a result, there was a huge air pocket just beneath the top.
While I was cooling the cake, hubs wanted to try the cake. After that piece, he asked for another! Wow! Personally, I wasn't satisfied with the result, no fault of the recipe's. I had added another tablespoonful of flour hoping to thicken the batter. I think I will compare this recipe with the American Carrot Cake recipe, and see if I can improve on the texture. Other changes I made was to reduce the amount of sugar from 250 g (same amount as flour!) to 220 g. The aroma of chocolate is tantalising yum yum...
Back to today's bake. My girl asked one day if I knew how to bake zebra cakes. Then I saw Aunty Yochana's post about her unsuccessful attempt in making the stripes. So, I searched the internet for a suitable recipe.
My first stop was Kitchen Capers and I found one very easily. However, the recipe uses emulsifier and I went about looking for another workable recipe. Then I came across one at Recipezaar which uses yogurt and no butter. However, there wasn't any reviews so I thought I should search some more. I landed on Farida's Azerbaijani Cookbook and found another easy recipe. Just so you know, there are various versions of Zebra Cakes using ingredients from cheese to crackers :S
It appears that many bloggers have tried it and gave the thumbs up. So I set out to try it, all the while praying that all will go well. On the "surface", I thought I did well. Perhaps I was a little too enthusiastic about chocolate as there was simply so much to use. Looking at the photo, you'll understand what I mean. It's a far cry from the original, definitely.
I'm sure I have over-beaten the batter as well. There were several cracks at the top. As I was too afraid to disturb the stripes, I didn't bang the pan against the table to remove the air bubbles. As a result, there was a huge air pocket just beneath the top.
While I was cooling the cake, hubs wanted to try the cake. After that piece, he asked for another! Wow! Personally, I wasn't satisfied with the result, no fault of the recipe's. I had added another tablespoonful of flour hoping to thicken the batter. I think I will compare this recipe with the American Carrot Cake recipe, and see if I can improve on the texture. Other changes I made was to reduce the amount of sugar from 250 g (same amount as flour!) to 220 g. The aroma of chocolate is tantalising yum yum...
4 comments:
adeline, very nice stripes you have got for your cake! don't worry about the bang to release air bubbles from the cake. It will not disturb the stripes as its 'trapped' in btw layers of colours. I have finish my marathon class..now got time to do magic in the kitchen again!
Hello Gina, thanks for dropping by, long time no talk. Hope the marathon class didn't wear you out too much. I need a refresher course in chiffon cake soon :D
This is show-stopping. I've been wanted to get my hands on making this zebra cake and can't find one that's suitable. (Most of my Zebras ended up marbled). Now, this is it! Thanks! :)
Hi Michelle, thanks for dropping by. You are an amazing baker, very talented as well. Guess one needs patience with the zebra cake. I'm not sure if I can do it again tho...
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