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A slice of Zebra cake on a plate
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Zebra Cake Recipe (The Classic)

This luscious zebra cake recipe features swirled chocolate and white cake, topped with ganache. You'll love the festive zebra stripes!
Course Cake, Dessert
Cuisine American, Russian
Keyword zebra cake, zebra cake recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Calories 595kcal
Author Natalya Drozhzhin

Ingredients

Zebra Sponge Cake

Soaking Zebra Cake

  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Cake Cream

Chocolate Ganache

Instructions

Zebra Sponge Cake

  • In a medium bowl, mix the softened butter with 3/4 cup of sugar.
    butter with sugar in a bowl
  • Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs with 1 cup of sugar.
    Eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl
  • Add the butter mixture into the egg mixture.
    Eggs whisked in a bowl
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the sour cream, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the sour cream mixture into the egg and butter mixture.
    sour cream with baking soda
  • Working slowly, add the flour into the batter until well-combined. Next, split the batter in half in two separate bowls. Add cacao powder to one of the bowls to create the chocolate cake and whisk until well-combined.
    cake batter in two bowls
  • Spray a 7-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Alternating the different colors of batter, place two tablespoon of batter at a time into the cake pan until you run out. This will create the zebra stripe effect.
    zebra cake in a cake pan
  • Bake the cake at 350°F for 40 minutes. To check if the cake is done, stick a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, it's ready. Once the cake completely cools at room temperature, slice it into 2-3 equal sized layers with a serrated knife.
    zebra cake cut apart

Soaking Zebra Cake

  • Soak each cake layer with about 1/2 cup of whipping cream (use a squirt bottle if you have one).
    zebra cake getting soaked with heavy cream

Cake Cream

  • Using an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar together just until it reaches stiff peaks.
    cake cream on a whisk
  • Apply the cream between each layer and use the remaining cream to frost the outside of the cake.
    cake covered in vanilla cream

Chocolate Ganache

  • In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Next, pour it over the chocolate chips in a medium size bowl and stir the mixture until smooth. Give the ganache a couple of minutes to cool.
    chocolate ganache in a bowl
  • Apply the ganache all over the top of the cake. If you wish, decorate the top with chocolate shavings, sprinkles, or whatever else you'd like. Eat immediately or let the cake set overnight in the refrigerator for best results. Enjoy!
    a decorated zebra cake on a cake stand

Nutrition

Calories: 595kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 170mg | Sodium: 153mg | Potassium: 249mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 1220IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 2mg