Easy and Delicious Chocolate-Vanilla Zebra Cake

Chocolate and vanilla come together in a fun zebra-striped soft and moist, delicious cake

Here is my recipe for this super-easy to make, soft and moist chocolate and vanilla cake. Ready in less than one hour, from start to finish!

As you can see, this mouth-watering cake has a show-stopping beautiful zebra stripe effect, making every bite of this dessert a perfect mingle of chocolate and vanilla. 

As you will see in my recipe and video, to get this zebra pattern in the cake is quite easy. 

All you have to do is make one simple vanilla batter and once it's all whipped up, add unsweetened cocoa powder to half of the batter.

Spoon the vanilla and chocolate batter in the middle of the pan alternating the two colors. One spoon of each, on top of each other.

You can gently shake the pan a little if you want to make sure it turns out flat. But if you don't rush it, the batter will spread out.

Bake and slice. And watch the fun striped patter. So pretty right?!?

Similar to my chocolate and vanilla marble loaf, there is no butter in this recipe. Just vegetable oil and milk to keep the cake super soft and moist. 

You can of course, substitute the oil with melted butter in the same amount.

As always, make sure to weight (if possible) the flour or measure it correctly if using a cup. Do not pick up the flour from the package with the cup, or you might end up with a batter that is too thick. Make sure to spoon from the bag into the cup so it won't pack.

Also, remember not to over mix the batter once you add the flour. And don't over bake. That will dry up the cake and won't be as moist. 

Always test with a toothpick at the end to make sure it comes out clean when instead in the middle.

NOTE, you can double up the recipe, make some chocolate frosting and whip up  a stunning layered zebra cake! Just a thought. 

Other Italian dessert recipes you might like:

Italian Cream Stuffeed Cannoncini (cream horns)

Berry and Ricotta Tart

Berry Custard Pastries

Italian Almond Cookies

Italian Panna Cotta

Italian Granita al Limone

Italian Torta Paradiso 

Italian Cream-Stuffed Bomboloni

Camille - Italian Carrot Half Dome Cakes

Sardinian Pardulas Dessert

Easy to Make Ricotta Crumble Cake

Italian Torta della Nonna

FULL VIDEO RECIPE: Zebra Cake

Happy baking!

 

PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD: Easy to make Chocolate-Vanilla Zebra Cake

Easy Chocolate-Vanilla Zebra Cake

Yield: 8

Author: Manuela Mazzocco

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 50 Min

Chocolate and vanilla come together in a fun striped cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (100 gr) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup (180 ml) milk
• 1 orange, zest
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 cups (250 gr) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (40 gr) unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180 C).
2. Line and/or grease an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan.
3. In a large bowl, add the sugar and eggs and beat until light and foamy. I recommend using a hand mixer if available.
4. Add the vanilla extract, oil and milk while mixing. Beat well.
5. Add the orange zest, salt and baking powder. And mix to combine.
6. Add the flour and mix until just combined.
7. Pour half of the batter into a different bowl. Add the cocoa powder to one of the two bowls, and mix until combined.
8. Spoon some of the vanilla batter and some of the chocolate in the center of the pan. Alternate one spoon of each color on top of each other. The batter will spread to the sides and flatten it out. You can lightly shake the pan if needed.
9. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until set in the middle. Check with a toothpick to test.
10. Wait for the cake to cool to remove from the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like and enjoy!

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