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Zebra cake

Name: Zebra cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 70 min
Cuisine: Russian
Ingredients: 4 eggs; 220 g sugar; 250 g sour cream; 100 g melted butter; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 280 g plain flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 2 tbsp cocoa powder; 2 tbsp milk

Tort Zebra (Торт Зебра): striped vanilla and cocoa sour-cream sponge

Features:Vegetarian Kid friendly

Cuisine:

Russian

Russian mothers learned the trick of zebra cake from Soviet women's magazines in the 1980s: spoon a vanilla and a cocoa batter alternately into the centre of the tin and the rings spread out by themselves into stripes. Cut open at a birthday tea or on a Sunday afternoon in Moscow flats, it always draws a gasp from children. The sponge is made with sour cream, so it stays moist for days. The common mistake is spreading the batter with a spoon, which smears the stripes. Chef's tip: drop each spoonful exactly in the middle of the previous one and let gravity do the work.

Total time: 70 min
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 10

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Ingredients

Serves10

4 eggs
8 oz sugar
9 oz sour cream
3 ½ oz melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 oz plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp milk

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What you'll need

Skewers

Spices & pantry

Fresh ingredients (4)

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Method

0/5 done

Step 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and line a 24 cm round tin. Whisk 4 eggs and 8 oz sugar for 4 minutes until pale and thick.
5 min
Step 2: Whisk in 9 oz sour cream, 3 ½ oz melted butter and 1 tsp vanilla extract, then fold in 10 oz plain flour and 2 tsp baking powder.
3 min
Step 3: Pour half the batter into a second bowl and stir in 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 2 tbsp milk, so both batters are the same thickness.
2 min
Step 4: Drop 2 tbsp of vanilla batter into the centre of the tin, then 2 tbsp of cocoa batter right in the middle of it, and keep alternating until both are used.
10 min
Step 5: Bake for 45–50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean; cover loosely with foil if it browns too fast. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then on a rack.
50 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 350 kcal
Protein: 6 g
Carbs: 46 g
Fat: 16 g
Fibre: 1 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does zebra cake take?: About 70 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegetarian?: Yes. It has no meat or fish.
What can I use instead of eggs?: 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
What can I use instead of sugar?: Caster sugar, same amount.

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