Family Fridays #4 German Marble Cake

Linda Dunsmore is German/American but lives and works in South Korea. She has a lovely Korean fiancé and writes about their intercultural relationship. Linda has a wonderful blog and also writes about life in South Korea, China, language learning and traveling.You can find her at her blog: www.lindalivinginchina.comOn facebook On twitter  One of the many advantages of growing up in Germany was the traditional cuisine. My mother and grandmother are master chefs and bakers which results in regular coffee and cake time and elaborate dinners. Cakes and pies take up a great amount of German cuisine and it’s common to drink coffee and have pastry or cake with it in the afternoon. One of y favorite cakes is “German Marble Cake”.I grew up in a bicultural household – my mother is German and my father is American. Even though I consider myself “German American”, I see Germany as my home and it’s where my heart lies. Now that I live in South Korea, it’s hard to stay connected with where I am from. German restaurants are a rare sight here and without the proper tools it’s hard to create authentic German dishes. The expat life isn’t always easy, especially when you miss home a lot and cannot find homemade food. However, even just one recipe can turn the world around make you happy in an instant when you’re having a bad day in your host country.If you want to know more about Germany or life in South Korea, visit my blog.

German Marble Cake

(Original recipe makes 1 -10 inch tube cake)

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons dark rum

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 10 inch tube pan.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the eggs, then the milk and almond extract.
• In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Turn half of the batter into another bowl and stir in the cocoa and rum.
• Layer the light and dark batters by large spoonfuls and then swirl slightly with a knife.
• Bake the cake in at 350 degree F (175 degree C) for about 70 minutes or until it tests done with a toothpick. Transfer to a rack to cool. Makes about 14 to 16 servings.

What I love about this recipe is that the cake looks really difficult to make due to the marble look but is actually easy to bake! Also, you can keep the cake for a long time and don’t have to eat it all up in a couple of days! It’s great for breakfast and/or a snack at school or work!Nobody can say no to a German Marble Cake!-Linda