An incredibly delicious marble cake that remains super moist and tasting even better the next day thanks to the almond flour. A must have during tea time!
180gramsunsalted buttersoftened at room temperature
180gramsall purpose flour
225gramscaster sugar
3/4teaspoonalmond extractor vanilla extract
2teaspoonsbaking powder
75gramsground almondsalmond powder * see notes
3large eggsat room temperature
2tablespoonsmilk
3tablespoonscocoa powder
3tablespoonshot water
100gramsdark chocolate chipsoptional but recommended
icing sugar to dust
Instructions
Heat oven to 180 C. Grease and 1.5 litre bundt pan with butter and dust it thoroughly with some flour. Tap off the excess.
Sift together the flour and baking powder and stir in the ground almonds.
(see notes before you begin) In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar till fluffy, about 2 minutes on high speed. Add the almond extract and mix.
Add one egg at a time and whisk well. Add the flour mixture and the milk in parts and gently fold until incorporated.
In a small bowl mix the 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder with the 3 tablespoons of hot water to make a smooth, lump free paste.
Now divide the batter equally into two bowls (see note#2) and to one bowl add the prepared cocoa paste and mix really well. To the other bowl, add the chocolate chips (if using).
Now add spoonfuls of the chocolate and plain batters alternatively into the tin. Once you are done with layer one, continue with layer 2 (on top of layer one). When done, drag the handle of a clean teaspoon or butter knife through the mixture once.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely.
Dust generously with icing sugar and serve
Notes
If you don't have ready made almond powder you can make some with a little prior preparation. You can either powder skinless almonds or peel off the skin from regular almonds by placing them in hot water for 15 minutes till the skins peel off easily. Then completely dry them before pulsing them in a food processor/dry grinding jar of a mixer grinder for 3-4 seconds or until you get an almost fine powder. Make sure not to 'grind' the almonds as they will release oil and the whole thing will turn into a paste very quickly, so make sure to use the 'pulse' option.
The trick I follow to divide the batter into half is to first weigh the bowl in which I prepare the batter. When the batter is ready I weigh it again and minus the weight of the bowl. The resultant weight is of the batter which I divide by two.
Since I prefer using the weighing scale to measure my ingredients this recipe does not have cup measures. A quick Google search for a conversion chart should help you.