Happy Marble Cake

Last Saturday, Mom-in-law told me that my dad-in-law likes the cakes & muffins that I had made in the past few weeks (*_^) ~wink~. He hopes that I'll continue baking some more fresh cakes & cookies so that all of us can have healthier snacks to eat whenever we feel hungry..

Recently, I'm a fan of http://pengskitchen.blogspot.com/ as it has alot of recipes that is interesting and has clear instructions on the baking process.

Today, I made a marble cake using Peng's recipe though I have reduced the amount of butter used and added some chocolate chips on top for a prettier effect.

The texture is just lovely!Moist, soft and not too sweet. My hubby commented that it taste nicer than those marble cake we bought in our local bakery shops (*_^) This cake is really worth trying as it can be cut into quite alot of pieces, ideal as refreshments for parties.

Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

A

2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp warm water

B

250gm unsalted butter (cut into small cubes) ( I used 225gm Gold Churn Unsalted Butter)

200gm sugar

4 eggs (room temperature)

250gm self-raising flour ( or you can make your own by sifting 2 cups plain flour, 2 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt)

C

1 tbsp condensed milk

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp finely chopped mixed peel (optional)
2 tbsp chocolate chip ( optional for garnishing)

Methods:

1) Line base and grease an 8 inch square cake pan. Preheat oven at 160 degree.

2) Dissolve A until smooth. Set aside.

3) Combined C. Set aside.

4) Place butter & sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat at low speed till butter & sugar is evenly combined. Increase speed to medium & beat for 5 minutes or till mixture is pale & fluffy. Do not overbeat ( else butter will melt).

5) Add eggs 1 at a time beating for 1 to 2 min in between each addition. Batter will be light & fluffy.

6) In another bowl, using a balloon wire whisk, fold in half sifted flour & milk mixture (C). Do not beat or stir the mixture. Divide into 2 equal portions.

7) Fold in cocoa mixture (A) into 1 portion. Do not over-mix (Add the mixed peel to other portion)

8) Spoon alternate batters into cake pan. Tap a few times to make consistency. Using a knife swirl batters twice to achieve a marbled effect. (Sprinkle choc chips on top)

9) Bake at 160 degree for 60 -75 min (my conventional oven just used 35 min to bake). Check with a skewer or toothpick and if it comes out clean,it is well-baked. Else, bake for another 10 min. (Cover cake surface loosely with foil at the last 10 min to prevent over browning).

10) Cool cake in pan for 10 min before serving.