Halloween Marble Cake

My company had a baking competition today and I had to enter.  I decided to go with a marble cake as it has been a special request from one of my co-workers for a long time now!

I basically used a modified version of: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-orange-marble-cake/



1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plain yogurt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons orange extract
Orange and Black food colouring

First cream together the sugar and butter.  I was using special jelly like orange food colouring which should be worked in earlier.

Beat in the egg and yogurt, then carefully fold in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt).  Usually recipes tell you to mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls and then fold them together.  I cheat but if you're not comfortable with baking cakes yet you should follow that method.

Divide the mixture in half and add the cocoa powder and black food colouring to one side, orange extract to the other side.

Carefully add the batter into a greased mold by spooning in a spoonful of each batter from both bowls.

It's tedious but keep working until you fill the mold.  Then swirl it a bit with a knife.

Bake at 350 F for 50 min.  Then let cool.

Flip it out on a cooling rack and spoon on a standard glaze.  (2 cups of icing sugar mixed in a couple of tablespoons of water).

It ended up pretty good!  The chocolate and orange flavours was subtle but there.  And I won first place at work!