Earl Grey, Mandarin, and Black Sesame Marble Cake

Ingredients

• 150 g granulated sugar (granulated sugar)
• 165 g all-purpose flour (all-purpose flour)
• 3.5 g baking powder (baking powder)
• 2 g salt (salt)
• 70 g almond flour (almond flour)
• 100 g whole eggs (about 2 whole eggs)
• 40 g sour cream or crème fraîche (sour cream or heavy cream)
• 35 g egg yolks (about 2 egg yolks)
• 100 g butter (melted and cooled; plus extra for greasing the mold and for the top line)
• 10 g olive oil (olive oil)
• 1 mandarin zest (zest of one mandarin orange)
• 3 g finely ground Earl Grey tea (finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves)
• 30 g black sesame paste (black sesame paste)
• 1 mandarin juice (juice of one mandarin orange for soaking)

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 145°C (293°F). Butter a 24 cm cake mold.

2. 2

   Melt the 100g of butter and set aside to cool.

3. 3

   In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and almond powder) and mix thoroughly with a whisk.

4. 4

   Add the whole eggs, egg yolks, and sour cream (or crème fraîche) to the dry mixture and mix until combined.

5. 5

   Incorporate the cooled melted butter and the olive oil into the batter.

6. 6

   Divide the batter into two equal portions of approximately 335g each.

7. 7

   In the first portion, add the zest of one mandarin and 3g of finely ground Earl Grey tea. Mix well.

8. 8

   In the second portion, add 30g of black sesame paste and mix until uniform in color.

9. 9

   Pipe or spoon the batters into the buttered mold, alternating the layers to create a marbled effect. The mold should be filled to about 2/3 capacity.

10. 10

    Pipe or draw a thin line of softened butter down the center of the batter to help the cake develop a nice 'crack' or hump as it rises.

11. 11

    Bake for 55 minutes at 145°C.

12. 12

    Immediately upon removing from the oven, unmold the cake and soak it with the fresh juice of one mandarin orange.

Notes

The author suggests this is a great alternative to standard vanilla-chocolate marble cakes. The line of butter on top of the batter is a professional pastry technique to ensure the cake splits evenly and beautifully in the center.

Nutrition per serving

• cake
• marble cake
• earl grey
• mandarin
• black sesame
• dessert
• snack
• baked