An indulgent Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake Recipe, topped with a rich dark chocolate glaze, and decorated with flakes for more dark chocolate. If you are wondering what to bake for Valentine's Day, this is the cake to make.
Preheat the oven to 170 deg Fan assisted. Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin with baking parchment or a cake tin liner.
Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go along.
Add the eggs, one at a time, adding a little flour in between each one to help prevent curdling. Add the Vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
Add the remaining flour and Milk. Mix until well combined.
Place half of the mixture into another mixing bowl and add the sieved cocoa powder. Mix until well combined.
Use a couple of tablespoons to dollop the chocolate and vanilla cake mixture alternatively into the loaf tin.
When all the mixture has been used, take a cake skewer and swirl it around the cake mixture to create a marble effect.
Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for 50 - 55 mins or until baked, testing the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean.
Leave in the tin to cool a little before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Chocolate Glaze Topping.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir frequently until melted and smooth. Leave to one side to cool a little.
As the glaze starts to cool, gradually layer the chocolate over the top of the cake before it begins to set. As each stage of layering begins to set add additional layers until you have used all the chocolate glaze.
Decorate with the roughly chopped or grated chocolate before the glaze sets completely, ensuring all the chocolate pieces stay on the cake. You may need to gently press down the flakes onto the still softened chocolate.
Notes
TIPS AND FAQ’S
Sometimes it helps to lightly beat the eggs and mix in the vanilla extract before adding to the cake batter. This helps distribute the vanilla flavour more evenly around the cake.All ovens are different and baking times may differ slightly. Test your cake with about 5 - 10 mins left to bake to make sure you are not over baking the cake.Granulated Sugar is fine to use, but it has larger granules and will take longer to break down. If you don't beat the mixture enough, you may see unsightly brown spots in your baked cake.