Chocolate & Vanilla Marble Cake

Every Tuesday evening, I make sure that nothing happens between 8 & 9pm because my favourite baking programme The Great British Bake Off is on BBC2.  I absolutely love it - especially when King Paul Hollywood (the Silver Fox) and Queen Mary Berry watch, taste and comment on everybody's efforts.  Mel & Sue the presenters always have me in fits of laughter with the sometimes snide but always witty asides.  So far, all the men have been eliminated, leaving just a few incredibly talented women to fight it out for the honour of winning and becoming the next Edd Kimber.  I'm going to be on holidays for the next two weeks and will be missing GBBO.  I will find a way to watch it though... I need my fix!

This cake is based on a Mary Berry recipe and is topped with a chocolate frosting which is a world apart from the usual buttercream topping - it's glossy and glacé and gorgeous.  This was actually the last cake I made for work (in fact, I made three of them) and nothing but crumbs remained.  The original recipe was made in a 2lb loaf tin, but for ease of feeding hungry work peeps, I also made it as a traybake.  It stays moist for at least 5 days in an airtight tin - but good luck with that one...  Oh, did I mention that "somebody" broke a plate in her hurry to get a second piece???

Finally, you'll see a new prop in these pictures - the Finance Team in work bought me the most beautiful cake stand for my birthday and I have to show them that I've used it or they will beat me!

Chocolate & Vanilla Marble Cake

225g Butter, softened
225g Caster Sugar
275g Self-Raising Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
4 Large Eggs
2 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1½ tbsp Cocoa Powder
2 tbsp Hot Water

Chocolate Icing 
25g Butter
15g Cocoa Powder
1-2 tbsp Milk
100g Icing Sugar

Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3. Lightly grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin & line with a wide strip of non-stick baking parchment to go up the wide sides and over the base.  Or you could just use paper liners...

Put the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs, milk and vanilla extract into a food mixer for 2-3 minutes until well blended. Spoon half into another bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and hot water together until smooth. 

Allow to cool slightly, then add to one of the bowls of cake mixture, mixing well until evenly blended.

Spoon the vanilla and chocolate cake mixtures randomly into the prepared tin until all of the mixture is used up, and gently level the surface. 

Bake for 50 -60 minutes, until the cake is well risen, springy to the touch and starting to shrink away from the sides of the tin - I'd recommend using a skewer to check that the cake is cooked through. 

Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack, peel off the lining paper and leave to cool completely.

To make the icing, melt the butter in a small pan, add the cocoa powder, stir to blend and cook gently for one minute. Stir in the milk and icing sugar, then remove from the heat and mix thoroughly. If necessary, leave the icing on one side, stirring occasionally, to thicken. Spread the cold cake evenly with the icing and leave to set.