September 18, 2008

Tiger Cake and Stories in Disguise

A few people have recently asked me, both on the blog and in person, if I won’t miss Ozzy and The Landlord, maybe just a little bit? The answer is a resounding NO! I will not miss either of them showing up at my door reeking of cheap alcohol and crazy old man, respectively. I will, however, miss the stories they provided me with. Friends often asked me what they were up to and even went so far as to hope we’d run into them when they came over for a visit, just so they could witness the insanity for themselves. I’m sure I would have found the situation even funnier if it wasn’t happening to me, like when someone falls and I laugh. But the fact of the matter is that it was happening to me and I’m glad to be rid of it and the heebie jeebies I got every time I saw one of those two. With the move though, comes a whole new set of people and a whole new set of potential crazies.

I always debate how much I can actually share on the blog though because if I spend any amount of time with someone they inevitably find out I have a blog, (usually when I whip out my camera to take a picture of food like a weirdo) and that means that I have to watch what I say here. Not to worry though this won’t stop be from blogging about my experiences, it just means I’ll have to find a creative way of telling you about the new people in my life which won’t incriminate me. Nicknames and fairy tales will definitely be put to good use.

But before I say too much, hey look, cake! Lisa of Pittsburgh Needs Eated made this Tiger Cake
way back in April and I knew I wanted to make it as soon as I saw it. (I especially loved her square tube pan, and am jealous that she found it at a thrift store for cheap). After reading through the recipe though I decided I needed to changed it ever so slightly to make it live up to its name of Tiger Cake. It already has the stripes, but when I think of a tiger I think of orange and black and even though the stripes are decidedly vanilla and chocolate, I decided I wanted orange. So, using a technique I learned from Dorie Greenspan, I rubbed orange zest into the sugar to flavour my Tiger Cake with orange as well as chocolate. And I’m telling you, once you try this technique you’ll want to use it every time a recipe calls for sugar and zest.


Tiger Cake (adapted from Lisa of Pittsburgh Need Eated who adapted it from Alice Medrich's Bittersweet)

1/2 cup natural process cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1 cup flavorful extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp finely ground white pepper
5 cold large eggs
1 cup cold milk

A 10-12 cup tube or bundt pan, or two 6 cup loaf pans.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour the cake pan or line the loaf pans with parchment.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, and water until well blended.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt thoroughly and sift together onto a piece of paper. Set aside.

In a large mixer bowl (preferably fitted with the whisk attachment) rub together the sugar and orange zest with yours fingertips, then beat in the oil, vanilla, and pepper until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until the mixture is thick and pale, 3-5 minutes. Stop the mixer and add 1/3 of the flour mixture*. Beat on low speed until just blended. Stop the mixer and add half the milk. Beat just until it is blended. Repeat with another third of the flour, the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour.

Pour 3 cups of batter into another bowl and stir in the cocoa mixture. Pour 1/3 of the plain batter into the prepared tube pan (or divide it between the loaf pans) and top with 1/3 of the chocolate batter. Repeat with the remaining batters. Don't worry about marbling the batters- that happens during the baking.

Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes for either the tube or loaf pans. Cool the cake in the pan(s) on a rack for about 15 minutes. Slide a thin knife around the sides of the pan(s) to release the cake. Invert the pan(s) and invert again, setting the cake right side up on a rack to cool completely.

***I adapted this recipe from Lisa who adapted it from Alice Medrich's Bittersweet. You might want to check out either of those originals for something similar but different. The addition of orange zest was mine.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

This looks so pretty and delicious! It would be perfect for me to make for a football Saturday dessert, since my team is the Clemson Tigers! I love that technique that Dorie uses. I use it for all recipes now!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

So I guess this means you have a tiger in your tank being as how you're now free of those last two crazies and haven yet picked up any new ones yet.
I do love the looks of this cake and whole heartedly am with you on Dorie's zest and sugar trick.

Susan @ SGCC said...

Hmmm. I was wondering if you might miss Ozzy, just a little bit. He was such a good source of material, lol! I'm sure you'll find some great new material in your new place, though. There are plenty of crazies out there.

I'm really loving that cake! The orange is a great twist and it looks so pretty! I use Dorie's technique all the time too.

Clumbsy Cookie said...

Good call on the orange! Iremember her square pan as well, it was pretty cool. But your cake turned out great as well!

Anonymous said...

Love the cake and I really must try the sugar/zest technique soon.

RecipeGirl said...

You might not miss Ozzy, but WE will :) Just kidding... we all knew he was a nut and that you'd be safer to move out!!

I find that I have to talk in very 'general' terms on my blog so as not to possibly offend anyone. That's pretty easy to do (offend someone, that is).

What a cute, cute tiger cake. I love the way the inside looks!

kat said...

what a fun cake!

Kajal@aapplemint said...

the stripes have come out so neat n even. I sure this tastes divine !

Anita said...

Wow, the stripes in your cake are so gorgeous - beautiful job!
I know what you mean about "interesting" characters in your life - you wish they weren't there, but then you wouldn't have all the stories to tell your friends!

Anonymous said...

Very cool looking cake! I love the thought of the addition of orange.

Deborah said...

I can understand that you aren't going to miss them, but you have to admit that they made for some entertaining stories!! And this cake looks amazing - I've always wanted to make a tiger cake.

Gabi said...

This looks fabulous and I like the orange/choc combination- one of my favourites :)

Scott at Real Epicurean said...

Everyone has gone tiger cake / zebra cake mad lately - I even cooked one myself and recently did a roundup of other people's on my blog.

Your method seems much more original than mine, though!

Vera said...

This cake looks delicious! I love orange zest and olive oil together, as well as addition of white pepper.

Peabody said...

What a cool looking cake! Oh and I know you miss Ozzy.

Anonymous said...

i've seen this before, in the book and everywhere else! looks lovely and great stripes you made!

Fruit tart said...

It looks like it's smiling :) and I'm sure I'd be smiling if I were eating a piece! Enjoy your new kitchen.

Manggy said...

You know, I think I'd settle for a little boredom/ lack of stories over having to contend with their lunacy! If I get really bored, I'll just be the crazy one, haha :)

Of course! *Orange* tiger bread! Why didn't I think of that? Looks delicious!! (Beautiful pattern too!)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I'm sure you'll meet many more crazies in this world to provide you with stories. .....let them eat cake:D

jasmine said...

Hey...as far as I'm concerned, EVERYONE's character fodder...

j

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Love the swirlies in this cake -- makes me say who cares about the crazy people in the world. Let them eat cake, indeed!

Snooky doodle said...

this one is a must try. It looks so nice and delicious!!!

giz said...

A really interesting looking bundt and I like what you did with the orange and sugar - smart.
Ozzie so sounds like my son's ex landlord and he just couldn't get away fast enough. The 2 in the morning stumbling into walls and falling off beds was getting to be a tad insane. And you're right - new place - new crazies. We, of course are all normal right???:) whatever that means.

The Peanut Butter Boy said...

Love the tip for flavoring the sugar with zest. I don't make cake often but I'll be sure to use this when I do!

Maria said...

That is a cool looking cake! Love it!

Anonymous said...

As cool as the square tube pan is, I always forget that it leaks! I have ended up with cake batter all over the bottom of the oven more than once...

Excellent job!

LyB said...

I love Dorie's zest/sugar/rubbing technique too! And I also love chocolate and orange together, this cake looks spectacular. :)

Shaun said...

Brilynn ~ I think your addition of orange is a winner, for it perfectly complements both chocolate and vanilla. The rippling in your tiger cake is hypnotic...I could look at those well-crafted stripes for hours.

FJKramer said...

can you taste the olive oil in the cake -- does it have an impact on the flavor at all?

Jeanne said...

Love the look of that cake! And looking forward to hearing heavily disguised tales of new crazies :)