Zebra Cake
Zebra cake in cut
Zebra cake is just what you need on a rainy day to serve with your cup of tea (or coffee). It’s easy to make and the process is weirdly satisfying.
Zebra cake is another USSR classic. Known and loved by many, this cake is surprisingly easy to make. I have never made it before I decided to figure out how the pattern is achieved, and to my surprise, it was way easier than I imagined.
Ingredients
4 eggs
300 grams sugar
250 grams cremefraiche (18-25%)
100 grams butter
200 grams plain flour
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
Method
Preheat your oven to 180C (using upper and lower heat function).
Mix soft butter with sugar and eggs.
Add vanilla sugar, baking powder, a pinch of salt, cremefraiche and mix until you reach a creamy consistency.
Sift the flour and add it to the batter. Mix well.
Now divide the batter into two equal bowls.
Prepare your baking form by smearing a bit of butter on it and lining it with parchment paper (mine is a round shape 24 cm in diameter) but you can use any other similar shape it does not need to be round.
Now interchangeably pour 2 tablespoons of each batter into the baking form on top of each other. So you start with plain batter and pour 2 tablespoons of it in the middle of the form, then pour 2 tablespoons of cacao powder on top of that and continue doing it, by the end, you can just use 1 tablespoon of each to finish off. Your batter will look like the first photo on the left above the method explanation.
Now using a sharp metal pin or thin wooden stick you can make the spider web looking pattern. This step is not necessary but is fun. To create a pattern imagine that you have to divide your cake into half, then into quarters, and then to smaller pieces. Then use your metal or wooden stick instead of the knife “cutting” up the cake to create the pattern. Don’t dip the stick too much into the batter, keep it on the surface.
Now your cake is ready to go to the oven. Bake it at 180C for 45-60 min. Your cake should become golden brown and cook through. You can test it by sticking a match stick into it and it should come out dry.
Once your cake is ready, you are ready to serve. It goes well with any ice cream or just on its own.
