Have you ever craved cake? I do . . . and I shouldn't because I really don't need to be eating cake, but every now and then I just got to have one. I normally only bake goodies at the weekend. That keeps me from over-indulging if they are only weekend treats. I have spent the week salivating over a variety of Lemon and Elderflower cakes, a flavor which is tipped to be the choice for Meghan and Harry's wedding cake for their impending nuptials. I had in mind to do a version of one myself. I might still do, not having made up my mind yet, or I may not. In the meantime I am still wanting cake and so . . .
I turned to my trusty copy of the BHG New Cook Book, which was published originally in 1982, to find a recipe. My copy is lovingly well-worn, having been used often over these past 36 years or so. In fact it is just about falling apart and many of the pages are spattered and splodged . . . the mark of a really good cookbook! I think this was one of the first cookbooks I ever spend dosh on . . . I never ever thought that one day I would have written one of my own . . . and be working on a second one. Yes, I still pinch myself.
Back to the cake. I didn't want anything too faffy or complicated. I wanted a simple cake. A family cake. I decided to bake the Chocolate Marble Cake from the book. Its a simple family cake, not too large, not too small and the perfect mix of white and chocolate butter cakes.
It is one of my favourites and there is just enough white cake in it (2/3) that I knew Todd wouldn't complain too overly much about the chocolate cake bits . . . . he is not a huge fan of chocolate cake, but, in fact . . . . he thinks this one is just nice. So that makes it perfect.
I can never get the marbling quite right when I do a marble cake. I have tried everything under the sun . . . they never end up looking quite like the pictures in the book, but no mind . . . its the flavor that counts, right?
And the flavor of this cake is spot on, with just the right mix of both vanilla and chocolate . . .
It gets baked in a loaf tin, so it is very easy to cut and very homely looking. Its a sturdy cake, not flimsy cake and goes really well with drinks . . . be they hot cups of tea or coffee, or . . . cold glasses of milk. My favorite.
This ought to keep us contented over the weekend I am sure. You could put an icing/glaze on it if you wanted to, but I never bother. I just keep it plain and we are quite happy with that. ♥
*Chocolate Marble Cake*Makes 1 9X5X3 loafPrintable Recipe This fabulous loaf cake is adapted from a recipe which comes from my well-worn copy of the BHG new Cookbook, published in 1982.
245g plain flour (1 3/4 cup)2 1/2 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp salt125g butter (1/2 cup)190g sugar (1 cup)1 tsp vanilla2 large free-range eggs156ml milk (2/3 cup)30g unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled (1 ounce)2 TBS HOT water1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch baking tin and line it with baking paper. Butter the paper. Set aside.
Cream together the sugar and butter with the vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition. Combine the melted chocolate, hot water and soda. Separate 1/3 of the cake batter from the rest and stir the chocolate mixture into this.
Spoon the batters, alternately into the prepared cake tin. I do a thin layer on the bottom of the loaf tin of plain, and then put in three blobs of white leaving space to put in 3 blobs of chocolate in between, then I reverse that on the next layer, putting white batter on top of the chocolate blobs and chocolate on the white, repeating until I have used all of both batters. Run a thin spatula through the batter in a zigzag shape to marbelize, without overdoing it.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minuts. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack before removing from the pan to finish cooling. Ice or not as desired. Cut into slices to serve.
Its the May Bank Holiday here this weekend, with Monday being a bank holiday and the weather s tipped to be one of the warmest and nicest on record. We will see about that! For now the sun is shining and all is well in our little corner of the world. Bonne Weekend! ☺
