Thursday, August 20, 2009

the Mocha Cherry Zebra Experiment

(the laboratory mid-zebrification)

Step 1:  Get enthralled by this and this and this and this and this and this!  

I *had* to make it.  Not only was it zoologically named but it meant I could hide a secret surprise under the frosting (always good).  And given that I had an mocha-loving friend who very very kindly drove these paintings home from the studio for me through notoriously terrible montreal traffic, I knew it was the ripe time to start dolloping.  CHerry ripe time!  haha, okay I shut up now.

I started from the recipe at Caffeine Heartbeats, but added instant coffee to the mocha side and almond to the vanilla for extra je ne sais quoi, and a bit less vinegar for less risk of crumbling.  (Oh, and no orange, just vanilla this time).  And I had to tweak the viscosity on both ends with a bit of flour and water respectively, but not too much and then I could dollop away.  3 tbsps of each batter, thin little lines, up and up and up until....

Step 2: Bake it up in the oven for about 45-50 minutes and go ooooooooooooh zeh-braw...

Step 3: Flip it over to cool and notice another heart-shaped thing in your food, like they're conspiring to surround you or something.  My word!

Step 4: Acknowledge the fact that it's a sweltering August evening but ignore good reasoning and ice it super-generously in mounding swirls of fluffiffffy cherry frosting buttercream anyway.  (be so very happy you did that as you're eating the veritable angel crack later on, a little bit melty regardless.)

Step 5: Keep it in the fridge as best as possible in this heat, then break it out and serve in big cool stylish overly delicious wedges.  One of the best I've ever made, and I mean that flavour-wise, too!  I was pretty glad to come by said friend's house later the next day to help her eat it for breakfast, like that was such a painful thing to do (it wasn't). 

Meanwhile, I've spent a few days picking apples at an orchard, so I'll have some posting about that pretty soon, I think!

17 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

STUNNING, STUNNING, STUNNING!! You never cease to amaze me with your culinary skills, Liz. Bravo!

Can't wait to read more about your orchard visits!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh! That is such a gorgeous cake!!! Love it!!!

T said...

Eeek, that's gorgeous! I'm hypnotized... and with the cherries on top, it looks like something out of a children;s book. Yum!

Anonymous said...

That looks really cool

Theresa said...

zomg! zebra cake!

autumn_leaves said...

this is like the awesome-nest cake i've ever seen in a long while!!!
would have been sooo fun to eat!

Amey said...

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am FREAKING OUT on your cake. Thank you thank you for sharing. I MUST make one. It is so beautiful. Yours turned out so perfect and lovely. I cannot believe it. My eyeballs are popping out of my head.

The Voracious Vegan said...

That is probably one of the MOST beautiful cakes I have ever seen! Your are SO talented and creative. I wish I could taste it, I bet it is amazing. Well done with the icing, it looks so luscious and YUM!

vegan.in.brighton said...

Oh my gosh that cake is absolutely beautiful, the zebraness is amazing and your icing / decorating job is perfect!

Judy's Nutrition said...

Oh my goodness that is an amazing cake! I love that you covered it in demure pink icing...the perfect juxtaposition.

nora said...

WHOA WHOA WHOA that is out of control cool! I still don't realyl get how it works though!!

Leigh said...

That is awesome! I've never seen a zebra cake before!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

nora! it's super simple, you just alternate chocolate and vanilla batter (about 3 tbsps at a time) until the tin is filled up. There's some perfect instructions with pictures here!

http://www.azcookbook.com/zebra-cake/

Amy said...

That is one gorgeously impressive cake!!! Wow!

Vaala ◪ said...

This is seriously cool! I have to try this now...takes marble cake to a whole new extreme!

Mihl said...

I once made a zebra bread quick bread. It was a lot of fun both to eat and to make, I should totally go for a cake next time, yours looks fantastic.

slate roof repair nj said...

This is looking very good and all cakes and deserts look very cool and i would like to taste all of these.