Today I want to share with you the recipe for this delicious two-tone cake. It’s a great pantry dessert, perfect for a healthy and wholesome breakfast or snack. It’s soft, fragrant, and delicious thanks to the chocolate chips in the batter. It’s not difficult to prepare and is also very popular with children. This allows us to give them something better than the usual packaged snack they always look for. Let’s get started in the kitchen!
Other “two-tone” desserts you might like:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 10 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 338.34 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 40.34 (g) of which sugars 20.02 (g)
- Proteins 7.29 (g)
- Fat 18.10 (g) of which saturated 11.15 (g)of which unsaturated 6.69 (g)
- Fibers 2.50 (g)
- Sodium 35.37 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 86 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the Two-tone Cake
- 9 oz sugar
- 10 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 eggs (medium)
- 1 pinch cream of tartar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate
- 1 packet baking powder (16 g)
Tools
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Small Bowl
- Electric Hand Mixer
- 1 Lemon Zester
- 1 Fine Mesh Sieve fine mesh
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Baking Pan 24 cm diameter
Preparation of the Two-tone Cake
First, you need to prepare the buttermilk, also known as fermented milk, which will make our cake soft.
Pour 1/2 cup of warm milk into a small bowl and add a tablespoon of lemon juice (for best results, the milk should be warm, not just at room temperature and not boiling). Let it sit for about ten minutes while you proceed with the rest of the preparation. It will be ready when curds form. Set aside.
Coarsely chop the dark chocolate with a knife.
Using a citrus zester, zest about half a lemon. Use an untreated one because the peel of common lemons is not edible.
Separate the yolks from the whites.
Add a pinch of cream of tartar to the egg whites and whip them to stiff peaks with the electric hand mixer. Set aside. Read HERE to find out how to substitute cream of tartar if you can’t find it, and to understand exactly what it’s used for. If you’d like to purchase it online, you can do so by clicking HERE.
In a large bowl, place the sugar and previously softened butter (not melted) in a bain-marie, at room temperature, or in the microwave, and mix well with the electric hand mixer.
Then add the yolks and lemon zest and mix again with the mixer.
Now, start to gradually sift and add the flour along with the baking powder, alternating with the buttermilk.
When the flour and milk are well incorporated into the batter, also add the whipped egg whites, gently folding them in from bottom to top to avoid deflating the mixture.
At this point, divide the batter into two parts.
To one half, add the chocolate chips and sifted cocoa.
Mix well with a spatula until the color is uniform, softening the mixture with the remaining milk (10-20 ml if necessary).
Grease and flour a 24 cm diameter baking pan and place the two batters in alternating spoonfuls until the ingredients are used up.
Try to level it all off without mixing the colors.
Bake the two-tone cake in a preheated static oven at 180°C (350°F) for 35 minutes. Use a toothpick test to check its actual baking: when inserted into the center of the cake, it should come out dry and clean. If not, leave it in the oven for a few more minutes.
And there it is, just out of the oven!
Let the two-tone cake cool completely before removing it from the mold.
You can dust it with powdered sugar if you like. I didn’t because I like to see the effect of the two different colors. Enjoy! PaolaI take this opportunity to remind you that you can follow me on various social networks to always be updated on the new recipes I publish. You can find me on Facebook (HERE), on Twitter (HERE), on Pinterest (HERE), on Instagram (HERE) and also on Tik Tok (@zenzero_limone). Thank you ♥!
