When marbling cake, can density of chocolate cake impact the rising of the vanilla cake?
I have specific bakers who I really love their recipes for different kinds of cake - for example Stella Parks. Because she doesn't have a recipe for a marble cake, I'm trying to decide whether I'll be successful when trying to marble two of my favorites of her cakes.
Some of the concerns I have relate to density of batter - for example, a chocolate cake that's more fudgy/dense might prevent a lighter vanilla cake from rising properly. The two recipes I'm looking at are found on the Serious Eats website - Chocolate, vanilla. I've created a table below with the amounts of primary ingredients for comparison purposes, as a note, both recipes are supposed to be for a three-layer cake:
| Ingredient | Chocolate | Vanilla |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 9 oz all purpose 3 oz cocoa powder |
16 oz all purpose |
| Sugar | 16 oz light brown | 16 oz granulated |
| Butter | 12 oz | 8 oz |
| Liquid | 12 oz coffee 6 oz chocolate, melted |
16 oz whole milk |
| Eggs | 6 large, cold 3 yolks, cold |
3 large, room temp |
| Leavening | 1 tbsp baking soda | 4 1/2 tsp baking powder |
With all of the extra eggs, the density looks concerning. Is it? Would I have more success if I find another chocolate cake recipe that's more similar to the vanilla cake?
While there's an existing question that focuses on baking temperature and time, I'm curious whether there are other factors worth considering.
Best Answer
I wouldn't mix those two cake recipes, personally. The chocolate cake is much more dense than the vanilla, with almost twice as much liquid. Further, in the recipe, the vanilla batter is fluffed up, whereas the chocolate cake isn't (and can't be). I would assume that, if you mixed those two, what would come out of the oven would actually be two layers, with the chocolate on the bottom.
When I worked in a bakery, how we did the marble cake was that the chocolate portion was exactly the same recipe as the vanilla, with 10% of the flour swapped out for cocoa powder.
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What causes a cake to be dense and heavy?
A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought).What makes a cake dense vs Fluffy?
Dense vs Fluffy Cake A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought). A cake that bakes too slowly takes longer to set and may fall, causing a dense texture. I will go with fluffy cake.What causes cake to be dense at the bottom?
Developing the flour's gluten too much means the cake will rise beautifully in the oven \u2013 then sink (a little, or a lot) as soon as you pull it out. And the sinking cake is what makes dense, moist, gluey streaks. Lesson learned: beat butter and sugar and eggs at medium speed. Once you add flour, mix gently.What makes a cake very light and fluffy?
Creaming Butter & Sugar. Whisking butter and sugar together is one essential tip to make the cake spongy, fluffy and moist. Whisk butter and sugar for long until the mixture becomes pale yellow and fluffy because of incorporation of air. The process is known as creaming.How to make a Delicious Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake | Quick Marble Cake Recipe | Aneela Irfan
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