Marble cake for Prabhakaran family

For Prabhakaran family:

To be baked in tube pan

Marble loaf

Unsalted butter – 85 gms, at room temperature
Caster sugar – 1/2 cup
Eggs – 2
Vanilla extract – 1/2 teaspoon
All-purpose flour – 1 cups plus 1 tablespoons, loosely packed
Baking powder – 1/2 + 1/8 teaspoons
Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
Milk – 1/4 cup, at room temperature
Dark Chocolate – 60 gms

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree C. Butter and flour a 9 inch by 6 inch loaf pan. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2. Chop the chocolate and melt in microwave for 40 seconds and stir until chocolate is fully melted. You can also use double boiler to melt the chocolate. Set aside to cool a bit.

3. Add butter into the bowl of your electric beater and beat until light and fluffy.

4. Add sugar to butter and beat on medium high speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture turns pale yellow, creamy and fluffy.

5. Add the eggs one by one and beat for about one minute after each addition of egg. Finally add vanilla extract and beat until it has been incorporated.

6. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2 parts, alternating both, starting and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until combined after each addition of flour and milk. Do not over beat after the addition of flour mixture.

7. Transfer half of the batter to another bowl. Add the melted and cooled dark chocolate into one half of the batter and fold it using rubber spatula until completely blended. Do not over beat.

8. Alternate both batters and spoon them into the prepared loaf pan. Keep adding layers until you finish using both the batters. Tap the pan few times to get rid of air bubbles at the bottom.

9. Use a skewer/toothpick to go zig zag just 4 to 6 times. You will be tempted to do more, but just control and not more than 6 times. Bake in pre-heated oven for about 60 minutes to 70 minutes until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and invert pan to remove cake from pan and let cake cool completely to room temperature on the wire rack.