YOU WANTED TO KNOW—MARBLE CAKE

March 21, 2019 2 Comments

I was with my mother in her room at her new abode. I’ve mentioned in past posts that at ninety-nine she moved out of her apartment into the nursing home. Her eyes are failing her and though she is still able to see, reading is no longer a pleasure she can indulge in.

As I sat facing her, I began to read last week’s post, Cooking through a Child’s Eyes, about the time we baked a marble cake together. I wondered if she remembered the event that had so impacted the six-year-old little girl that I was. I read our pouring, mixing, and combining the ingredients until they were smooth, then creamy, and finally the consistency we needed. I continued with adding chocolate to one of the bowls and vanilla to the other; now, alternating between the rich chocolate and glistening yellow cream, we slowly and carefully poured both into the pan until it was full.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her listen as I described how surprised I was when she cut the cake and I saw the magical design that appeared on the cake slices; I expressed my bewilderment, not understanding how the cake could look like that.

As I got to the bottom of the page and there were no more words; I looked up at my mother’s face, and then into her eyes, hoping to see recognition. She didn’t say anything. I started to feel let down—sad that she didn’t remember the moment we’d shared, the one I remembered with such awe. All of a sudden, her face came alive with a big smile and she said, “I remember, that was a good cake—I love that you wrote it down into a story.” I couldn’t help but grin, feeling great that she too remembered that magical moment.

The ability to connect with my mother about a memory that happened so many years ago would not have happened, in the same way, if I hadn’t had the story to read to her.

I’m so grateful for everyone that emailed me to say they liked the story and would I please post the recipe. I found my mother’s original recipe in French. Instead of trying to translate it, I tested a few and found one that is delicious. Just to make certain it was Maman-approved, I packed it up so my mother could have some with her afternoon tea. Her reaction: “This is so good!” When she finished her entire slice, she added, “I’ve always loved marble cake.”

Of the three recipes I tested, this was by far the best. I found it on an interesting site called Munaty Cooking.

Marble Pound Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup evaporated milk mixed with ¼ cup water OR 1/2 cup regular whole milk (I used milk)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with 4 tablespoons hot water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan, keep aside.
2. In a bowl, sift flour with salt and baking powder. Keep aside.
3. In a different bowl, add the butter and beat for 3 minutes until lighter in color. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy and much lighter in color, about 4 minutes on high speed.
4. Add the vanilla and then add the eggs one at a time, and each time you add an egg, beat for three minutes.
5. Add half the flour to the butter and sugar mixture and beat on lowest speed until combined (do not overmix).
6. Add all the milk and beat until combined, then add the rest of flour and beat until combined. The batter should look silky but a little thick.
7. Take around three-fourths of the batter and mix with the chocolate and hot water mixture. (MY NOTE: I found the chocolate to overwhelm the cake for my taste buds so I added the chocolate to only one-third of the batter.)
8. When scooping both batters into the pan, place a scoop of white batter and beside it a scoop of chocolate and the white batter and beside it chocolate batter. For the second layer, on top of every white batter place a chocolate batter, and on each chocolate, scoop a scoop of white batter. Using a butter knife, make a U or an S shape.
9. Tap the pan lightly two times over the kitchen counter, place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
10. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

 

What about you? 

Do you have ways to connect with people you love?

Do you find that family recipes connect you with your family history?

Let us know I'd love to hear.

  Merci  

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