Monday 15 October 2018

PUMPKIN AND DARK CHOCOLATE MARBLE CAKE

     The first thing that comes to mind when I think about growing up is that I get to have friends that teach me new experiences every day and become a valuable part of my life. Those friends are far more different than the friends I had a decade ago in the sense that now I can see a deeper and more meaningful connection to those individuals I chose to call friends. So, it is not a surprise that yesterday was spent again with lots of friends in top of the Swiss mountains. We hiked for about 3 hours and then enjoyed a very Swiss meal. What a wonderful and full Sunday we had!
    Of course, my mind today was still on yesterday's adventures and memories. But also, I wanted to come home from work so that I can start writing a delicious recipe I created on Saturday. It's been a long time since I baked a loaf cake that can be enjoyed with a warm cup of coffee. I guess there is no better time than autumn to start getting back onto baking treats to be enjoyed with the cold weather. This period there is a pumpkin overload everywhere and recipes with this tasty vegetable must have probably overcrowded your feed. I suggest you add this recipe to your list of things to bake and eat this autumn, cause I promise you will love this cake recipe.




     Overall I find cakes to be interesting when they combine taste with appearance as well. A marble cake is always something that fascinates the eye and gives you a combination of different flavours. Chocolate pairs well with almost everything (even salty food) and I knew that it would be a good match with a pumpkin cake. Once again for this recipe, I used olive oil instead of butter and it's actually the tip I give to everyone when they ask me how to make their cakes soft and last longer. Use olive oil! It's a miracle maker with guarantee. 
     This cake recipe is quite simple depending how much of the ingredients you already have in hand. For some of you perhaps in USA, UK or Australia, you might have pumpkin puree ready in cans. The rest of us have to make the extra effort to actually bake the pumpkin and then puree the flesh. But I advise you not to be disheartened by this. Fresh pumpkin puree will give incredible flavour to your cake and if you have leftover puree you can always make some pumpkin soup.




Pumpkin and Dark Chocolate Marble Cake

ingredients (for 1 medium loaf pan)

1 3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
85gr dark chocolate
2 tablespoons unsweetened cacao
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
icing sugar for decorating

How do I make it?

1. Prepare a loaf pan with baking sheet or coat with butter and flour. Put in large bowl and mix together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder and baking soda. If you have powdered vanilla extract mix that in. Otherwise, leave it for the liquid ingredients in the next step.
2. In another bowl, mix together the eggs and the sugar until the eggs have a fluffy and airy texture (for about a 30 seconds). Then, add the olive oil and milk (add the vanilla if you didn't add it in the previous step) and whisk again. Finally, fold inside the pumpkin puree. 
3. Gradually add the flour mixture into your liquid mixture and mix very well so that you don't have any lumps left. Divide the mixture into half by pouring half of the cake batter in a clean bowl and set aside. 
4. Melt the dark chocolate in a microwave and then pour it inside one of the bowls from the previous step. Add inside the cacao powder and mix again. 
5. Take your pan and pour one layer of pumpkin batter. Then on top add a layer of chocolate. Repeat the pumpkin and chocolate layers until you have no more batter left. Use a knife and make swirling motions in the batter. Bake the cake at 180C for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.



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