Zebra Pound Cake

I don't have a bundt pan. I'd kill to have one. 

Really. Tell me who, I'll bring my razor along.

That being said, I hope you'd be able to justify these cakes not with how they are, but how they could have been (like Baker's Royale). Treat it like you would treat your gothic teenager. 

This cake reminds me a lot of my kiddo days. Simply vanilla and chocolate was all I know, was all I thought i would ever eat, was all the flavors I thought existed. 60 cents worth of cake wrapped in clear plastic wrapper. 3 layers, no bigger than your 10 year old palm, each glued by chocolate chantility cream. I take on the slice layer by layer, up to the last layer, the last bite. The conquest was about to end, I was about to wake from the dream, it was unbearable. I wanted more, just one more.

But no, there's always only 1 for each of us. No more, no less. It was a simple little treat. It wasn't a meal, it wasn't dessert. Just a break from the day. Just 10 minutes of silly chocolate-covered-teeth smile to let our mom know, we're happy today, we're doing fine today, thank you for today. 

I had to share this experience with you foodies. It's not always about how expensive the ingredients are. It's not about how pretty the cake is adorned. It's not the box or the wrapper it comes in. It's just us, the cake and that very day. 

Recipe from Baker's Royale. I've adapted for less butter, less sugar and more milk. Please try this out. I'm sure to bake this again.

Zebra Pound Cake
3 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar , divided
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 tbsp water
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence/extract
5 large eggs
1 1/4 cup whole milk (300ml)

1. Combine cake flour, baking powder, soda and salt together. Set Aside.
2. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar, cocoa and water. Mix until smooth. Set aside.
3. Combine butter, 1 cup of sugar (remaining sugar) and mix for 1 minute.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing 1 minute each addition.
5. Add the flour and milk alternatively, mixing well each addition. (Always start and end with dry ingredients, ie. add flour in 4 additions, milk in 3 additions)
6. Remove 2 cups of the batter and combine with the cocoa mixture. Preheat oven to 350F/175C
7. Butter a bundt/angle food cake pan generously. Scoop 2 spoonful of white batter starting at one corner. In the middle of the white batter, add 1 spoonful of the chocolate batter. The batter will spread on it own.
8. Shake pan if lop-sided and bake in the centre for 50-60 minutes, testing with a wooden skewer at several places should come out clean.
9. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

 Yee-Haa,

Jes

Ps: Updated/corrected recipe.