May 8, 2010

Zebra Cake


I redeemed a free tub of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!" soft spread from the product package that I received earlier.

I'm not a very health-conscious person except I encourage home-cooking. I  use full fat products as I love my food tasteful. Usually those products like this one highlighting "No trans fat, less saturated fat, cholesterol free" doesn't really ring a bell to me as I've always had a perception that they make food tasteless.

However, I have to say I love this product for its taste. It's buttery and smooth.  I really can't believe it's not butter! My husband loves to spread it on toast. I use it for baking. This zebra cake is my first trial. Compared with regular butter, it makes my baked goods moist and soft without using sour cream or yogurt. I actually used it right straight from the refrigerator without getting it to room temperature. It's THAT soft. You could also melt it before use.

Oh, one more important fact! I may not care if this product is healthful, but it really is affordable!

(makes 9" cake)
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 large eggs, at room temp
1 cup white sugar
1 cup whole milk, at room temp
1 cup "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" soft spread
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9" round cake pan. Line with a parchment circle and butter the parchment.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine eggs and sugar. On medium speed, beat until the mixture is light and creamy. Add milk, soft spread, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.

On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until the flour is just incorporated.


Divide batter into 2 equal portions. Keep one portion plain. Add cocoa powder into another and mix well.

Scoop 1/4 cup of plain batter into the middle of the cake pan. Then scoop 1/4 cup of cocoa batter and pour it in the center (right on top) of the plain batter. Continue to alternate between the plain and cocoa batters (always pouring it in the center right on top of the previous batter) until you use up the batters.

Bake at 350F until golden or until a cake tested comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Cool for 15 minutes in pan and then remove cake from pan to cool on a wire rack.

28 comments:

ann low said...

Nice cake :))
Happy Mother's day!

Angie's Recipes said...

I wonder what exactly the "not butter" spread is....softened margarine?
The cake does look very moist and great to me.

Cathie said...

that looks wonderful!!!
i love the zebra look.

Jophine said...

I like the side view of the piece... Looks yummy.
Happy mother's day to you ! :)

The Housewife said...

Wow! That's a pretty cake! And very aptly named! :D

Donna-FFW said...

What a gorgeous cake!!

penny aka jeroxie said...

lovely cake :) I must make it soon.

pigpigscorner said...

So pretty! Happy Mother's day!

denise @ quickies on the dinner table said...

That's a really gorgeous cake! And it looks incredibly moist!

Happy Mother's Day :)

Belinda @zomppa said...

Gorgeous cake!!!!!!!! Happy Mother's Day!

Cookin' Canuck said...

What a pretty cake!

The Chocolate Priestess said...

It is a very pretty cake but I have to say this, you know I do:

It needs more cocoa!

Roxan said...

Such a cute cake! Turned out beautiful. I had a cupcake fiasco yesterday (they totally sank... thats never happened to me before!) so I'm scared to make cake right now.

Marlis said...

Hi, I just wanted to leave a post to thank you for the cast iron casserole which arrived a few days ago. I'll post a blog about it someday in the near future and will send you the link. We would surely have enjoyed a meal cooked in it by now but we had a death in the family and are a bit too depressed to think of fancy cooking. Sometime this week. I found a great bread to bake in it on foodgawker. Unbelievable but sounds like a fun thing to do.

Marlis

Drick said...

now that's a fun cake, I can't believe how easy the pattern is created, my first thought was how perfectly you swirled it together...

A SPICY PERSPECTIVE said...

WOW--that is a beautiful cake! Thanks for sharing!

C and C Dish said...

What a cool looking cake!

Anonymous said...

Oh, yum! You make me want to make this AGAIN. Good to know that I CAN'T BELIEVE butter works here. ;-)

Paz

food lover kathy said...

This chocoholic is loving the looks of that cake!

s said...

i've always wondered how to make cakes like that other than glopping the chocolate in a bunch of places and using a knife to swirl. it looks so neat.

My Little Space said...

Yeah, I wanted to ask you the same question as Angie! What is 'not butter'? Btw, I love my food tastful too!
Have a great day!
Happy Mother's Day to you!
Blessings, Kristy

oneordinaryday said...

I made the zebra cake quite a while ago, but mine didn't turn out as beautifully swirled as yours did. Kudos on a great cake!

M. said...

What a gorgeous cake!!!! Looks so delicious and decadent :)

Jo said...

I too am curious like Angie as to what "not butter" is. Don't think I've seen it here in Singapore. Anyway this cake looks gorgeous and I've always been amazed at how beautiful a zebra cake looks like.

bunkycooks said...

What a nifty looking cake! I wonder if something like Benecol (healthy butter-like spread) would work the same way since the texture is similar.

lululu said...

For anyone who's curious about the soft spread, it's in fact made with a blend of nutritious oils such as soybean and canola oil. So, it has less saturated fat than butter. Plus it has no trans fat and is cholesterol free. Also full of omega-3.
You can go to their site to learn more.

Anonymous said...

What could you use to replace "I can't believe it's not butter?"

Unknown said...

I'm in the process of making this right now and I can already tell you that the cake batter was delish! =P

I didn't use "I can't believe it's not butter" cause I didn't have any and didn't feel like going out to get some, so we'll see how it turns out with regular butter! Thanks for the recipe! Loved that I had all the ingredients in my pantry and I didn't need to run out to get stuff!!