ZEBRA CAKE

source Ria's Collection

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 tablespoon baking powder (if not available, substitute with 1 teaspoon baking soda)
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Using a hand-held electric mixer beat until the mixture is creamy and light in color

2. Add milk and oil, and continue beating until well blended.

3. In a separate bowl, combine and mix flour, vanilla powder and baking powder. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat just until the batter is smooth and the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

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

5. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

6. Lightly grease the pan with oil.

7. The most important part is assembling the cake batter in a baking pan. This is what you do. Scoop 3 heaped tablespoons of plain batter or you can also use a ladle that would hold 3 tablespoons into the middle of the baking pan. Then scoop 3 tablespoons of cocoa batter and pour it in the center on top of the plain batter.Do not stop and wait until the previous batter spreads ..keep doin! Do not spread the batter or tilt the pan to distribute the mixture. It will spread by itself and fill the pan gradually. Continue alternating the batters until you finish them.

8. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Do not open the oven door at least the first 20 minutes or the cake will shrink and will not rise. To check if the cake is ready, insert a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean when ready. Remove from the oven n cool it in the wire rack . You can sprinkle the top of the cake with some powdered sugar or leave it plain