CHOCOLATE MARBLE CAKE ~ NOT AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE

Good Morning to you,

I really do love writing this blog.

.... and I can honestly say, I love sharing my day to day recipes with you. Spending time in my kitchen, is not an effort for me, it is something I really enjoy.

.... and one of the things I do enjoy, is baking cakes. I'm not saying I'm a fabulous baker, but I think it would be fair to say that my cakes usually turn out pretty well.

So I was really looking forward to making a chocolate cake for this Easter weekend. I had decided to make George,

a Chocolate Marble Cake, using my,

brand new buntd tin. Did you happen to notice that I said, I was making this cake for George? Who am I kidding, you know how much I love chocolate. You won't be surprised to hear that I will allow the odd piece of chocolate cake to pass my lips this weekend.

.... but before I could do that, I needed to organise myself. I started gathering my ingredients, I had everything weighed out and ready to go.  I just needed to butter my buntd tin. I remembered reading somewhere, that it was so important, when using a buntd tin to butter it well, and when you thought you had buttered it enough, butter it some more.... and as you can see from the photograph, I did exactly that. 

When the ingredients were mixed together, I divided the cake mixture in half, then added chocolate to one half of the cake mixture.  I then spooned the mixture into the pre-buttered buntd tin, alternating between the chocolate mixture and the plain. I ran a spoon through the mixture to create the marbled effect I was after. I placed the cake in the pre-heated oven and baked it for the correct amount of time.  I  then allowed the cake to cool a little, before I was ready to turn it out of the buntd tin. When the time arrived, the cake had other ideas, instead of it releasing itself from the buntd tin, the cake stayed where it was,  it held firm.  I was not phased, I thought to myself, I just need to give it a little more encouragement, so I tried using a rounded knife, hoping this would help the cake to release itself. I then turned the buntd tin upside down and I waited patiently,

.... there was no movement, the cake held firm, it was going no where.

I reached for a wooden spoon and gently tapped the base of the cake.

I tried again. I turned the buntd tin upside down.

Can you believe it, the cake would not budge. My beautifully baked cake had decided, rather than being released, it preferred the confines of the buntd tin, it was happy to stay where it was.

.... but I had other ideas. By hook or by crook, this cake was going to be parted from its tin and take its rightful place, on my cooling rack, ready to be photographed.

I gently shook the cake. I gently banged the cake on the work surface... notice I say gently on both counts. 

But neither worked.  I was still no nearer to releasing the cake from its tin.

So I found myself another knife, and yet again, very gently, began coaxing the cake away from its tin. I was quietly confident.  

I took a deep breath and turned the cake upside down once again.  Ooh, there was movement,

.... and then I gasped. I say a gasp, I think it would be fairer to say it was more of a loud groan.

Look what appeared before me.... a mish mash of a cake. Half of the cake had decided to come out of the tin, whilst the other half, decided to stay put, inside the tin.... the cake was a mess. There was no beautifully rippled cake for me to present to you.

I was so disappointed.  I had been looking forward to using my buntd tin for so long and I was expecting to produce a beautifully shaped cake.... instead I got this mess.

George was listening to the world news in the den when he heard my groan.... yes it was that loud. He walked into the kitchen to see what I was doing. He looked at the cake, he then picked up a piece, and said "now that's really nice" and walked away.  I watched him walk away. Had he not noticed something a little odd about the cake, in actual fact, had he not noticed the cake was a mess. Between you and I, I can't help but feel he had decided not to comment on the cake, thinking it was better that he walked away, rather than stay and listen to me lament about the state of my cake. 

I was so disappointed, I had taken all my step by step photographs, which believe it or not, do take such a long time, and after all that effort, I didn't have a beautiful end result to share with you.

So I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down, feeling pretty miserable with myself.

George was trying to be kind, but whatever he said, didn't really help.

.... and then he looked up and said.... as only George could.... 'It does look a bit rubbish doesn't it'. I looked at George, he looked at me and I saw the twinkle in his eye and we both burst out laughing.

Yes, I admit it, the cake was a bit rubbish, but in my defence, it tasted lovely.  So I decided to wrap the cake in tin foil and put it away for the moment, then start all over again and bake another cake, this time using a standard cake tin.  I buttered the cake tin, I lined the cake tin with parchment paper, feeling very confident this time, that once baked, I would be able to remove the cake from its tin, very easily.

.... and I am pleased to tell you, that once baked, the chocolate marble cake, behaved itself, as all cakes should, and released itself,  from the cake tin, without any fuss. 

Once the cake had cooled, I used a pastry cutter to remove the centre of the cake, so that I could fill it with little Easter chocolates, which is what I wanted to do with the bundt cake. 

So all in all, everything turned out well in the end.  I am pleased with my cake, second time around, but I have decided I will not share the recipe with you just yet, because although the cake is lovely, it did not work out as it should have.  So I feel it would be wrong to share this recipe with you.

What I want to do, is bake this Chocolate Marble Cake in my buntd tin and present it to you, complete, recipe and all.

So please, do you have any advice to help me.  Is it just that I did not butter the buntd tin enough.... although I have to say I buttered it much more than I normally would.

On reflection, I was so disappointed that the cake had not turned out as I had expected it to, but once I had thought about it, I realised,  whilst I am proud to show you my triumphs, I also want to share with you my failures..... after all, life isn't perfect is it and the same can be said about my baking and I for one, can live with that.

.... oh well, there's nothing more to do, I suppose, I will just have to force myself,

to enjoy the odd piece of salvaged cake and I promise to leave the Easter eggs for the children. Come to think of it, I do have a packet secreted away in the biscuit tin.... well you just never know when the fancy will take hold.

Have a Happy Easter and I will see you next Thursday.

As Always,