All-Natural Marble Pound Cake

This recipe uses meringue to replace baking powder; and lemon juice to replace cream of tartar. If you brew soya milk at home, you may save the pulp and add 10g to the batter. The pulp helps to lock the moisture in the cake :)

Yield: 1x16cm round cake

Ingredient A

100g unsalted butter, softened

30g fine sugar

2 yolks

90g top flour

10g soya pulp (optional)

2 tsp cocoa powder

2 tsp hot water

Ingredient B

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp lemon juice

40g fine sugar

Directions

1. Line a 16cm round cake tin with non-stick parchment paper.

2. Loosen the top flour by using a hand whisk. Set aside.

3. Mix cocoa powder and hot water into a smooth paste. Set aside.

4. Cream the slightly softened butter to pale colour by using a hand whisk.

Add in 30g of fine sugar. Continue to whisk the butter cream till the cream can form a pointed tip at the end of the whisk.

5. Add in egg yolk, one at a time, to the butter cream. Ensure the yolk is completely blended with the cream before adding the next yolk.

6. Mix the soya pulp to the butter cream, if you are adding. You may skip this step if you are not including soya pulp in the recipe.

7. Add in the flour, in three separate portions, to the batter. Mix using a whisk or spatula. Mix by scrapping the bottom and turn the batter up to the surface in a circular motion.

Continue to stir the batter till it becomes slightly glossy.

8. To prepare the meringue, first whip the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl using an electric hand whisk in high speed. Add in the lemon juice and 40g of sugar when the egg whites become frothy.

9. Continue to whip the egg whites mixture till soft peaks formed. The tips of the egg whites are slightly bent.

10. Transfer about 1/3 of the meringue to the yolk batter in (7). Mix well.

11. Return the mixture from (10) to mix with the remaining meringue in (9). Blend well.

12. Take about 1/4 of the batter to mix with the cocoa paste in another mixing bowl.

13. Pour the two batters in alternating pattern into the cake tin. Tap the cake tin to set the batter and to remove trapped air.

14. Run the spatula in circular motion to create a whirlpool effect in the batter. Tap the cake tin to level the top.

15. Start baking the cake in a pre-heated oven set at 160 degree Celsius for about 45 to 50 minutes, or till an inserted stick came out clean.

You may place a small container of water at the bottom of the oven to keep the cake moist.

16. Allow the cake to cool down for about 20 minutes before removing it from the tin.

You may want to loosely cover the cake with a food wrap to minimize moisture loss.

17. Cut and serve :)

Recipe adapted from Carol's “烘焙新手必备的第一本书” page 162-4.