Tiger Cake (Tigerkaka)--Adapted from "The Nordic Cook Book" by Magnus Nilsson
Popular over almost all the Nordic region, Tiger Cake is a basic sponge cake marbled with chocolate to give it a striking tiger-striped appearance and nostalgic flavor.
Ingredients
- 9 ounces unsalted butter (2 ¼ sticks)
- ½ cup milk
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ⅔ cup cake flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder, optional
- 3 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Generously grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and line bottom with parchment paper.
- Combine butter and milk in a small heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Heat just until butter is melted. Cool to room temperature.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Once the butter mixture has cooled, add it to the egg mixture and beat until smooth.
- Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt over the batter and whisk in until well-combined.
- In a small bowl mix together the cocoa powder, espresso powder (if using) and hot water until smooth.
- Transfer a little less than half of the cake batter to a separate bowl. To this bowl add the cocoa mixture, stirring until uniform in color.
Assembly and Baking:
- Spread ⅓ of the plain batter on the bottom of the prepared loaf pan.
- Spread ½ the chocolate batter over top of the plain batter.
- Repeat with plain and chocolate batters, ending with the plain batter on top.
- Bake the loaf for about 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the top middle comes out clean.
- Cool the cake completely before removing from pan. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Tips for Success:
- Be sure to grease the pan well to prevent the cake from sticking.
- Espresso powder is a nice addition to the chocolate mixture to really intensify the chocolate flavor! It is not necessary, however, if you do not have any on hand.
- You want to mix the ingredients thoroughly for each step, however try to avoid over mixing, as this will make the cake tough.
- The cake may also be baked in a bundt or round cake pan if desired.
- This cake freezes well!