Marbled Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling

Guys, my hubby and I agree that this may be the best cake we have ever had. I am super critical of everything I make but I'm telling the truth. It's soooo good. I made it on a whim the other day. Some of my kids prefer chocolate and some vanilla, so I made it a marbled cake. I had some rhubarb given to me by a friend and strawberries that had seen better days. Then my youngest son asked for whipped cream frosting. All this together=amazing cake-ness stuff. The cake is rich and moist. The tang from the rhubarb cuts the sweetness of the cake. And the frosting is light and compliments wonderfully.

So here is the recipe! Hope you love it.

Marbled Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling

For the chocolate cake:*

• 1/2 cup (1 stick or 115g) unsalted butter
• 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
• 1/2 cup (42g) unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
• 3/4 cup (95g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
• 
  

• Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease and flour a 12 inch springform pan.
  2. Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave, stirring to melt. Check on it every 30 seconds or so. 
  3. In a medium sized bowl, toss the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together until thoroughly combined. 
  4.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Add the butter/chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add half of the flour mixture, then half of the buttermilk. Repeat. Try not to overmix. Batter is quite thick.
  5. Set aside while preparing the vanilla cake batter.

  
  
• For Vanilla cake batter:*

• Ingredients:

  • 1 and 3/4 cups (200g)  flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup (120g) full-fat sour cream at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk at room temperature

  Directions:

  1. Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
  2. Mix the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until creamed together. Add the egg whites, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean. Beat until combined, then beat in the sour cream. Slowly add the dry ingredients. Slowly pour in the milk until combined.  The batter will be slightly thick.
  3. Into the prepared pan, take large spoonfuls of each batter and alternate scooping in chocolate, vanilla, etc, until all the batter in used. I used a large ice cream scoop. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

  
  
• For the Strawberry-Rhubarb filling:
• 1. Chop rhubarb and strawberries into smallish pieces.  You will need about 5 cups chopped fruit. Throw them into a heavy-bottomed pan along with 1 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Cook over medium-low heat until it boils and rhubarb is soft. Quickly stir in 1/2 cup of cornstarch, making sure not to let it clump. Boil for 2-4 minutes until very thick. Set aside and let cool.

For the Whipped Cream Frosting:

In a small bowl, dissolve half a packet of unflavored gelatin with 2 Tablespoons water. Set aside. Whip 2 cups heavy whipping cream with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until stiff peaks form. Take the gelatin and microwave for 5 seconds. It should turn into liquid. Slowly, while still beating the cream, pour in the gelatin mixture. 

Assemble the cake:

After the cake has cooled, slice in half lengthwise. Pour the strawberry-rhubarb mixture over the bottom of the cake. Top with the other half of the cake. Frost with the whipped frosting. Refrigerate until ready to use and refrigerate any leftovers. 

Enjoy!

-Christa



*cake recipes based on Sally's Baking Addiction. 
PS, Sally's Baking Addiction is amazing. Everything on there is freaking fantastic.