Bundt Cake Marbled with Valrhona By Katherine Tan

Recipe adapted from Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum & Bakerious BlogSpot

Ingredients :

225g cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

348g cold heavy cream (I used 38% whipping cream)

3 (150g) large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract (I used 1/2 tsp pure vanilla powder)

225g superfine sugar (I used 180g caster sugar)

Chocolate Paste

2.5 tbsp cocoa powder

2.5 tbsp hot water

Method :

1. Grease and flour an 8”/9” metal tube pan/ bundt pan (I used 10” bundt pan). Preheat the oven 20 mins or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 190C (175C if using a dark pan).

2. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and the hot water together to make a smooth paste.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, vanilla powder and salt and then sift them together to make the mixture easier to incorporate.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk beater, whip the cream, starting on low speed, gradually raising the speed to medium-high as it thickens, until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.

5 . In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs (add in vanilla extract if you are using liquid form) 1st until lightly combined. On medium-high speed, gradually beat the egg mixture into the whipped cream. The mixture will thicken into mayonnaise consistency (unless high-butterfat cream is used). (my batter is quite runny)

6. Gradually beat in the sugar. It should take about 30 seconds to incorporate it.

7. Add half the flour mixture to the cream mixture with a large spatula , stir and fold the flour until most of it disappear, continue with remaining flour mixture.

8. Remove 1/3 of the batter and mix in the chocolate paste in to it.

9. Spoon in big scoops of vanilla batter into the bundt pan and alternating with some spoons on chocolate batter as well to create the marble effect. Repeat till all the batter has been put in.

10. Using a silicone spatula or spoon, scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Run a small metal spatula or dull knife blade through the batter to prevent large air bubbles, avoiding the bottom of the pan. Smooth the surface evenly with a small metal spatula.

11. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted between the tube and the side comes out completely clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven.

12. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10mins before unmoulding and cool completely on a wired rack before serving.