Zebra Cake
A homemade cake that has a crazy fun pattern made with two flavors of cake!
My family always picks the cake they want the most for their birthdays each year. My oldest and youngest pretty much pick the same thing each year. My husband and middle sometimes pick things that the rest of us may not eat (but that’s okay - it’s THEIR birthday). And then I pick all over the place. Sometimes it’s chocolate, sometimes it’s cheesecake. I’ve made a carrot cake (because I love carrot cake) for my birthday which is in the fall. I opted for a zebra cake a few years back and it was really fun to make and to see how the end result looked. I think it’s fun to know you’d never be able to make it look the exact same way each time you made it.
What You Need:
For the White Cake Layer:
2 3/4 cup cake flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
6 large egg whites, room temperature
For the Chocolate Cake Layer:
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. very hot or boiling water
2 Tbsp. sour cream
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
For the White Chocolate Frosting:
6 oz. white chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
Directions:
For the White Cake Layer: In a stand mixer bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Then on low speed, add butter by the tablespoon, not adding another until the one prior is incorporated. It should resemble coarse sandy crumbs when done.
Add oil and stir until combined.
In a measuring cup, whisk together milk, sour cream, and vanilla.
Add to stand mixer bowl and stir until combined.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into batter gently.
Remove 3 cups of batter into a separate bowl for the chocolate cake layer.
For the Chocolate Cake Layer: In a large measuring cup, mix together hot water and cocoa powder.
Add sour cream and sugar. Whisk until well combined,
Stir measuring cup mixture into 3 cups batter bowl until combined.
Prep two 8-inch round cake pans that are at least 2 inches deep by adding a parchment paper round to the bottom and spraying the sides with nonstick cooking spray.
Start with 1/3 cup of white cake batter in the center of each cake pan.
With a clean scoop, add slightly less than 1/3 cup of chocolate batter on top of the white cake batter in the center.
Repeat alternating each batter scoop by scoop until you run out of batter. Make sure the rings of the same color don’t touch each other if you can.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
Cool in pans for 15 minutes and then run a knife around the edge to loosen from sides.
Carefully invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the White Chocolate Frosting: In a small heatproof bowl, add white chocolate and microwave for 30 seconds.
Stir well and continue to heat in 15 second increments until completely smooth and melted.
Set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes.
Once white chocolate is cooled, begin making frosting base. Add softened butter to a stand mixer bowl. Beat until creamy.
On low speed, add melted chocolate and stir well.
Gradually add powdered sugar, scraping the sides as needed.
Add salt and vanilla and mix well.
While on low speed, add heavy cream gradually to the bowl.
Start to increase the speed to high and then beat for 30 to 60 seconds.
Level your cooled cakes with a serrated knife if needed to make them level.
Frost cooled cakes with white chocolate frosting.
Recipe from Sugar Spun Run