Cake of the Day: Tiger Cake from ‘The Nordic Cookbook’
They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today, Swedish chef Magnus Nilsson shares a popular marbled sponge cake known in the Nordic region as tiger cake from his cookbook The Nordic Cookbook.
Photo: Magnus Nilsson
Tiger Cake
Makes 1 loaf cake
Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour
Almost all over the Nordic region, a plain sponge cake marbled with chocolate sponge is referred to as a ‘tiger’ cake.
Tigerkake (Norway)
Marmorkage (Denmark)
Tigerkaka (Sweden)
2 ¼ sticks butter, plus extra to grease
Breadcrumbs, to coat
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
4 eggs
1 ⅔ cups sugar
2 ⅔ cups soft wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 345°F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan and coat with breadcrumbs.
Combine the butter and milk in a small pan and heat until the butter has melted. Leave to cool down to room temperature.
Whisk the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the butter and milk mixture and mix in thoroughly.
Sift the dry ingredients together into the bowl and whisk in gently.
Scrape half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sift the cocoa powder into the remaining batter and mix it in thoroughly. Scrape this chocolate batter into the loaf pan, then use the end of a wooden spoon to swirl the two batters together.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until cooked through. When the cake is done, it should have shrunk slightly from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean.
If you like crisp edges, then unmold the cake onto a wire rack and leave it to cool completely. If you prefer soft edges, leave the cake in the pan to cool. Remove from the pan and serve.
Reprinted with permission from The Nordic Cookbook by Magnus Nilsson (Phaidon).
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