Marble cake or cake marbré
200 g butter, room temperature
220 g golden caster sugar
vanilla powder or seeds from 1/3 vanilla pod
either 1 tbsp amaretto or orange blossom water to your liking
pinch of sea salt
4 medium eggs, room temperature
280 g all-purpose flour
1,5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
60 g kefir or light yogurt
3 tbsp cacao
10 g butter to add on top
Heat the oven to 180°. Line a pan (about 20/23x12 cm) with baking paper.
Place butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Beat with a hand whisk or in a stand mixer for about 5 minutes until creamy. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the eggs with a fork to make a smooth mixture. When the butter is ready, slowly add about 1/4 of the eggs and beat until smooth. Only when that is fully incorporated, add the next bit of eggs. If the mixture starts to split and get grainy, add a tablespoon of flour and whip it in. Only when the mass is smooth, add the next bit of eggs, and so on. The warmer the eggs, the less likely the mixture will split.
When everything is incorporated well, turn off the mixer and add flour, which has been mixed with baking powder, soda, and sour cream. Mix just to make a smooth batter, not longer. Divide into two parts. Add cacao to one and mix in.
Put the batter in the pan, mixing colours.
One large spoon of one and then another, almost like a drawing on a chess board. Using the other side of the fork, make a long line in the middle all the way from one side to another. Add tiny pieces of butter all the way.
Put the pan in the oven, one rack below the middle, and bake for about 50-55 minutes until ready, which can be checked by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it's done. Take out and cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then lift out slowly with the baking paper and place on a cooling rack. Serve warm or cold. To keep the moisture inside, especially if you eat the next day, wrap it in the cling film while the cake is still warm. Although I love to eat it the day it is baked when the outside is crisp and the inside moist, wrapping it in cling film does make it more moist.
