Today I am sharing recipe for traditional Polish dessert – zebra cake. This cake was a staple in our family home and my Mum used to make it at least once a week. I am thankful she has shared her recipe with me as this recipe makes the best zebra cake in the whole World! Moreover, my Mum’s recipe is great for beginners, inexpensive and super easy to make.
How to make zebra cake
Another crazy good recipe for beginners. I really hope that all the people who think they are hopeless in baking will make this cake. Honestly, this is such a fantastic and simple recipe and you can not go wrong with it.
STEPS:
- Select a round cake tin 23 cm (9 inches), line it with baking paper and grease it.
- Make cake batter by beating eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. You are looking for a foamy texture.
- Then add flour and baking powder and mix until you can not see any flour
- Adding oil and then sparkling water is easy.
- Now, you need to divide cake batter into half and add vanilla and extra flour to the mix and in a separate bowl add cocoa powder. You will end up with 2 cake batters.
- Off you go to create this famous zebra pattern now by taking a large spoon or a small cup and pour vanilla batter and cocoa batter interchangeably until you run out of the batter.
- The last thing to do is to bake for for around and hour and this is it.
TIPS:
- Use sparkling water, this is the secret to a great zebra cake. It will make this delish cake airy and light.
- Use the right size cake tin as it will affect the baking time. If you use smaller tin you may have to bake it for longer.
- Use a good quality vanilla extract or vanilla paste and cocoa powder, it really makes the difference.
- Feel free to add glaze to the cake, if you wish.
What does zebra cake taste like?
The consistency of this cake is light and airy due to using sparkling water – it really makes the difference! The crumb is spongy and firm.
When it comes to flavor, you can not fault it. Intense aromatic vanilla and deep cocoa flavor work so well together. This duo is such a classic and is difficult to beat. The cake is not overly sweet and has a tiny, but I mean really tiny hint of bitterness from cocoa powder.
How to store and serve this black and white cake
I love serving this cake while it is still warm with a nice scoop of ice cream on the side. Firm cake crumbs absorb melting ice cream wonderfully.
This zebra cake is very sturdy this is why I always make it when we go on a road trip, picnic or when we are invited for a BBQ. It holds so well in a plastic container regardless of the weather, it does not melt, falls apart nothing like it. It stays moist and delectable for days. Store the cake at room temperature in a container for up to 10 days.
Zebra cake is easy to freeze as well. No need for special freezing requirements. Just make sure the cake is completely cold, then slice it the way you want it and place it in a freezer-friendly bag. Store in a freezer for up to 6 months.
If you are looking for more recipes for Polish dessert, I can recommend you the following:
Vanilla cream horns, lady lock cookies
Apple pie with candied walnuts
You can find more Polish recipes here on my blog
I hope you will make my recipe and if you do, please leave a comment below and let me know your feedback. You can also find me on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Gab and Gettr. Please say hi and do not forget to tag me in if you make my recipe. I love seeing your creations.
Recipe source – my Mum’s notebook.
Smacznego!
Zebra cake
Super airy, light and moist vanilla and chocolate cake, also called Zebra cake. This is traditional Polish cake that is made by a lot of people due to low recipe simplicity, low costa and a wonderful taste and texture.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Please read recipe post as well. It includes storage direction and other useful information.
I always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh ingredients as it helps to achieve the best results. The US measurements in cups are the estimate and I can not guarantee the best results.
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Prepare a round baking tin. Line it with baking paper and grease the sides. I have used 23 cm (9 inches).
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Preheat an oven to 170C Fan (338 F).
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In a medium bowl beat together eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. For about 8 minutes.
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Add 320 g flour (2.5 cups) and baking powder. Mix together until fully combined.
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Add oil and mix.
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Next add sparkling (fizzy) water. Mix well.
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Divide cake batter into half.
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Add cocoa powder to one part of the cake batter, mix.
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Add vanilla extract and 60 g AP flour (0.5 cups) to the other half of cake batter and mix.
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Take the cake tin and spoon the mixture interchangeably to create zebra pattern.
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Place cake in the preheated oven and baked for 1 hour.
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After 50 minutes you can start checking if the cake is done.
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Remove the cake from the oven and leave it in a baking tin to cool down.