“Dark clouds gather ’round
Will I run or stand my ground?
…..
Yeah, gimme my way
Gimme my love
Gimme my choice
You keep me coming around”
~ Foals, Mountain at My Gates
These are not just lyrics from indie rock band Foals rather it’s my feelings for No Bake No Oven Espresso Chocolate Marble Cake. This super moist vanilla & dark chocolate loaf cake has bewitched me completely with its dark curls. And the happiest thing is it’s baked cooked on gas top/stovetop without any oven, just similar to my previous No Bake Buttermilk Skillet Cake without any Oven.
No Bake No Oven Espresso Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake is two-in-one cake with two flavours, decadent vanilla and espresso boosted dark chocolate in a single loaf cake and it is cooked on gastop instead on baked in oven. Unlike other regular layer cakes here two flavours are layered first and then swirled to achieve that marble pattern. One more thing about this marble cake, though you can spot espresso under ingredient list you can’t actually taste the coffee in it; here espresso is used to turn the dark chocolate flavour darker and stronger.
I’m a complete sucker of marble cakes and I’m always open to try various versions of it. I’ve been in search for a good marble cake recipe for years now. I’ve tried and tasted many in past few years but never got that one which can actually satisfy me to the core. Most recipes call for cocoa powder which gives nice smooth crumbs all over the cake but the cocoa powder fails to give that luscious sensation of chocolate. On other hand using real chocolates definitely give that sinful call to the cake but when it’s about synching with the vanilla part it falls apart, resulting brownies like moist crumbs in chocolate part and fluffy crumbs in vanilla part.
And my utterly disappointment comes out in a burst whenever it happens. I simply refuse to taste dry and moist crumbs in a single bite for sake of two different flavours in one cake. Why can’t I have a single slice of rhythmic marble cake with evenly moist crumbs all over the cake to enjoy the wedding of vanilla & chocolate in every bite??
Finally after loads of wastage now I can. Just a teeny weeny tricks and that’s all. Firstly the vanilla portion is upgraded to vanilla pound cake and the chocolate part is boosted with strong espresso. As I said before the coffee is not here to taste as an individual element but to enhance the darkness of chocolate.
And now comes the best part cooking the cake on gastop instead of baking in oven. Initially I had no plans to cook it on stove. I preheated my oven as any other days and then set the batter filled loaf pan inside the oven, turn it on and then, boom! Power goes off! Damn, it was Wednesday not even Thursday, our regular power cut day! Now I had a luscious marble cake batter inside the oven with no power and banging my head on the refrigerator door without any backup plans. After wasting a good time on cursing Maharashtra state electricity department I decided to stick to the plan and quickly preheated my largest pan on gastop, set the cake pan and waited just beside it while it was cooking on gas. I was too nervous to move or do any other things; I had to wait till I see my marble cake was browning. And then I noticed the battery of my camera had died in between (I had no clue when), so no rising and browning pictures this time guys, sorry. But if you wish to watch the detailed video where you can actually see how the cake is rising and browning, watch my previous No Oven No Bake Cake video here.
For those who hasn’t seen the previous one, it may sound weird to you but there is almost nothing required to cook a cake on stovetop, literally. All you need is any silicone or metal baking pan or bowls (even from your daily life a stainless steel pan will work fine), a large heavy bottomed pan with tightly fitted lid, a metal or wire stand and of course a gas top; that’s it! The method works same as baking oven. You need to preheat the pan before and then cook in it. Here the larger pan with lid will work as your oven and your gas/stove will be the heat source. For better understanding please read my previous post No Oven No Bake Cake video here and watch the video there too. (highly recommended)
Here is my video recipe of No Bake No Oven Espresso Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake for you all. And yes of course you won’t require any kind of oven as you will cook the cake on gas top instead of baking in oven.
Read the entire recipe and tips carefully before you start cooking.
Do make sure all ingredients are at room temperature (unless mentioned) and weighted or measured correctly in appropriate weighing machine or measuring instruments such as cups or spoons. Remember these are not our regular cups or spoons which we use in our daily life.
Before starting the prep work, one should keep one thing in mind that though this is a single serving cake it will take time to cook on gas top. The very same cake can also be baked in oven like a regular cake. I’ve tried it both ways and I couldn’t find any significant difference. So one has to be patient and organized; otherwise entire hard work will end up in a big fat mess.
Let’s begin with greasing and dusting the baking pan.
Grease the pan with softened butter and dust the same with cocoa powder. Tap off the excess cocoa powder. (See Tips)
Next, prepare the espresso shot!
Take 1 heaped tbsp of Instant espresso powder or any ground roasted coffee in a small glass; I used Nescafé. Pour 1/8 cup hot water in it and stir gently & bring to room temperature naturally. Watch the video for better understanding.
Always start with mixing &sifting dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl sieve and sift flour & baking powder together. Repeat the process one more time. Keep aside until needed. (See Tips)
And wet ingredients.
Cream butter (reserve 1 tsp) and sugar together with a beater until it become fluffy and pale in color. It will hardly take 2-3 mins. (See Tips)
If granulated sugar is used, mixture will take almost 5-7 mins to blend nicely. It’s always better to take 5 mins out and powder your sugar before you start baking, lesson learned in a hard way! (See Tips)
Add one egg at a time and continue beating. Take care not to overbeat.
Add vanilla extract and mix very gently without disturbing the aeration.
Add the dry mixture and milk alternately in 1:1:1 ratio into the batter and gently fold with a rubber spatula or whisk until there is no visibility of flour. Make sure there are no lumps at all. (See Tips)
For the chocolate layer.
Take chopped dark chocolate in a large glass bowl. Microwave for 1 min with 30 secs at a time; stir with a rubber spatula to distribute the heat evenly to melt chocolate.
Take half of the cake batter and mix with the chocolate. Fold the batter in espresso shot and fold until batter is smooth and silky. Watch the video for better understanding.
The layering.
Fill the 3/4th of a loaf pan with both batters; add both batters alternately until finished. The top will be uneven at this point but it will rise and get even while baking. So don’t tap the pan otherwise the pattern will be destroyed. Slit in the middle of the batter with a spatula slightly. It will prevent cracking in the middle of the cake. (See Tips)
Now, the most important part of this cooking, building the setup on gas top. Don’t worry it’s not any rocket science, just finding a simple large pan with a fitted lid and a metal stand to keep the baking pan on it. Once you’ve got them you are all set to cook your cake on stove top instead of baking in oven. As I mentioned before no sand or water or pressure cooker is required for this cooking.
Place the metal stand inside the large pan; be sure that your baking pan can fit comfortably inside the large pan, Watch the video for better understanding.
Heat the pan on medium flame for 3-5 mins with lid on or until you can feel the heat from the side of the pan. Place the batter filled baking pan on the stand, inside the large pan. Don’t forget to wear gloves otherwise you can burn yourself. Set it in the middle of the pan. Cover the pan with the lid and keep the flame low. Allow the cake to be cooked for 30 mins on low flame; don’t open the lid. After 30 mins or so increase the flame to medium and cook for another 10-15 mins. (See Tips) with lid on or until a skewer comes out with clean crumbs when inserted in the middle of the cake. (See Tips)
Remove the cake from large base pan and set on wire rack to cool down for 5 mins. Once it is easy to handle, run a blunt kitchen knife around the side of the pan and gently tap it few times on the kitchen counter to loosen up the sides and remove the cake from pan. Keep the cake on wire rack and bring to room temperature. (See Tips)
If you want to bake this cake in your regular oven bake in preheated (1600C) oven for first 30 mins at 1600C; then, higher the temperature to 1800Cand bake for another 10-15 mins (depending on your oven)
As my cake was initially meant to be baked in convection oven I filled the loaf pan more than 3/4th with the cake batter. But when I cooked it on gastop the sides and top were slightly over cooked. So I’ll suggest you to use a wide pan with low depth or fill the pan upto half with the batter. Remember, wider the pan = even cooking for gastop cakes. Next time I’ll try with a round pan instead of loaf pan and will update here.
Your warm cake is ready to drive in with a large cup of hot tea. If you want to decorate it further go ahead and flaunt your creativity with a scoop of ice-cream or two. As my agenda was to create a simple tea cake which can be cooked on gas top/stove top without any oven I dint dare to spoil the theme and kept it simple and easy.
Excess cake (if you can manage to get some) can be refrigerated in airtight container. Taste will be good upto 2-3 days.
Espresso Chocolate Marble Cake | No Bake No Oven Marble Cake | Chocolate Swirl Bread
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Rimli
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Serves: 12 servings (one 9x5x3 loaf cake)
Ingredients
- For Vanilla Sponge:
- All-purpose flour: 1 ¾ cup or 222g
- Baking powder: 1 tsp
- Margarine or Butter, salted: 1 ¾ stick or 212g + 1 tbsp (for greasing) (See Tips)
- Sugar, powdered: 1 cup or 222g (See Tips)
- Egg, large: 4, at room temperature
- Milk: ¼ cup
- Vanilla extract: 2 tsp (optional)
- Cocoa powder: 1 tbsp (for dusting) (See Tips)
- For Espresso Chocolate Sponge:
- Instant espresso powder: 1 heaped tbsp
- Hot water: ¼ cup
- Dark chocolate: 85g to 110g (See Tips)
- Equipment:
- Sieve
- Whisk
- Spatulas
- Large mixing bowls
- Small mixing bowls
- 9x5x3 or 8x4x4 loaf pan
Instructions
- Let’s begin with greasing and dusting the baking pan.
- Next, prepare the espresso shot by mixing the ground coffee and ⅛ cup of water.
- Sift dry ingredients together.
- Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy and pale in color.
- Add one egg at a time and continue beating, add vanilla.
- Add the dry mixture and milk alternately in 1:1:1 ratio into the batter and gently fold until there is no visibility of flour without any lumps.
- For the chocolate layer melt chocolate in a large glass bowl. Take half of the cake batter and mix with the chocolate. Fold the batter in espresso shot and fold until batter is smooth and silky.
- The layering.
- Fill the ¾th of a loaf pan with both batters; add both batters alternately until finished.
- Now, take large pan with lid and heat empty pan on gastop with a stand inside. After 3-5 mins place batter filled loaf pan inside large pan and cover. Allow to cook for 30 mins at low then at medium for 15 mins. or until a skewer comes out with clean crumbs when inserted in the middle of the cake.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Tips:
1. I always use regular salted margarine but my mother never use anything but while butter without salt. If you are using unsalted butter or margarine, add 1 tsp of salt to the flour mixture and sift. The salt will balance the sugar level in the cake.
2. It is okay to add little less sugar than the specified measurement but never add more. If you add less sugar your cake will be puffy and yes little less sweet but that will hardly make any differences if you are having perfect spongy cake with sugar frosting like this. But more sugar not only spoils your taste it will also produce soggy and lumpy cake
3. I always dust the pan with cocoa powder while baking chocolate or any dark coloured cake as flour dust on dark toned cake looks nasty. If you don’t have cocoa powder, use coffee powder or at least whole wheat flour to dust the baking pan.
4. I prefer my espresso chocolate layer dark dense so I used dark chocolate. Any other chocolate like milk chocolate or white chocolate can be used for the same purpose. Amount of chocolate can be varied between 85g to 110g. Remember the more chocolate meaning thicker chocolate layer. While with 85g chocolate, espresso layer will be light airy and with 110g chocolate, cake layer will be more brownie like.
5. Greasing and dusting the baking pan will make sure that cake won’t stick to it while baking.
6. Sifting and resifting the dry ingredients will make sure puffy and light cake while baking.
7. Don’t overbeat the butter & sugar. This will yield grainy texture and cake won’t be as fluffy as expected.
8. Always powder your sugar before start baking. There is no harm in use granulated sugar but it will take more time to incorporate all the ingredients while mixing which often produces curdled mixture, resulting dense heavy chewy cake, not light and aery, the way we love our cakes.
9. Mix flour with other ingredients in shape of ‘8’; be slow be gentle. Mixture can be over mixed in a jiffy which can produce hard dense cake.
10. Tapping the baking pan with mixture will help to release air bubbles from inside the batter, if any forms. And the batter will be spread evenly in the pan.
11. Keep checking after initial time specified. It may take 10-15 mins more depending on your oven.
12. Sometimes top of the cake gets the perfect brown color but inside still remains jiggy. Don’t worry about it. Cover the top with a heavy duty foil and continue baking for 10-15 mins more. This will prevent the top from over baking or burning while inside of the cake will continue to bake.
13. Don’t touch or try to cut the cake while it is hot. It is damn fragile now. Allow it to cool. Once it is cooled it will be firm.
1. I always use regular salted margarine but my mother never use anything but while butter without salt. If you are using unsalted butter or margarine, add 1 tsp of salt to the flour mixture and sift. The salt will balance the sugar level in the cake.
2. It is okay to add little less sugar than the specified measurement but never add more. If you add less sugar your cake will be puffy and yes little less sweet but that will hardly make any differences if you are having perfect spongy cake with sugar frosting like this. But more sugar not only spoils your taste it will also produce soggy and lumpy cake
3. I always dust the pan with cocoa powder while baking chocolate or any dark coloured cake as flour dust on dark toned cake looks nasty. If you don’t have cocoa powder, use coffee powder or at least whole wheat flour to dust the baking pan.
4. I prefer my espresso chocolate layer dark dense so I used dark chocolate. Any other chocolate like milk chocolate or white chocolate can be used for the same purpose. Amount of chocolate can be varied between 85g to 110g. Remember the more chocolate meaning thicker chocolate layer. While with 85g chocolate, espresso layer will be light airy and with 110g chocolate, cake layer will be more brownie like.
5. Greasing and dusting the baking pan will make sure that cake won’t stick to it while baking.
6. Sifting and resifting the dry ingredients will make sure puffy and light cake while baking.
7. Don’t overbeat the butter & sugar. This will yield grainy texture and cake won’t be as fluffy as expected.
8. Always powder your sugar before start baking. There is no harm in use granulated sugar but it will take more time to incorporate all the ingredients while mixing which often produces curdled mixture, resulting dense heavy chewy cake, not light and aery, the way we love our cakes.
9. Mix flour with other ingredients in shape of ‘8’; be slow be gentle. Mixture can be over mixed in a jiffy which can produce hard dense cake.
10. Tapping the baking pan with mixture will help to release air bubbles from inside the batter, if any forms. And the batter will be spread evenly in the pan.
11. Keep checking after initial time specified. It may take 10-15 mins more depending on your oven.
12. Sometimes top of the cake gets the perfect brown color but inside still remains jiggy. Don’t worry about it. Cover the top with a heavy duty foil and continue baking for 10-15 mins more. This will prevent the top from over baking or burning while inside of the cake will continue to bake.
13. Don’t touch or try to cut the cake while it is hot. It is damn fragile now. Allow it to cool. Once it is cooled it will be firm.
Variations:
1. Use 2 tbsp of cocoa powder instead of chocolate.
2. Use regular milk or coconut milk or almond milk even soy milk instead of buttermilk for richer taste.
3. Use any other flavours instead of vanilla and chocolate; whatever you feel right for your cake.
4. Turn it into a dessert cake with whipped cream icing and/or chocolate on top.
5. Replace the egg with egg substitute.
6. If you want to bake this cake in your regular oven bake in preheated (1600C) oven for first 20 mins at 1600C; then, in higher the temperature to 1800Cand bake for another 10-15 mins (depending on your oven).
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Eat, Love & Enjoy! And Repeat!!!
A keeper recipe! Thanks…
Normally while baking in the oven I start with a high temp till it rises and lower till cake is completely cooked. You have mentioned the opposite. Both are correct?
Hi Prita, both of your mentioned procedure works. In 1st one we let the cake rise first and then cook the same evenly.In 2nd procedure we cook the cake first and then brown the sides and top with higher temperature. As I cooked this particular cake on gastop I used 2nd one to ensure moist cake without any overcooking or burning. That's why I allow to cook the cake on lower temperature and then increase the flame to brown the top as it was a large loaf pan considering the gastop. I would suggest that you start with a smaller loaf pan and try. Hope this will help you 🙂
Interesting cake preparation – thanks for info
Hi Rimli,
Your recipes are simply mouthwatering.I request you send me recipe of niramish aloo dum made with poppy seed paste usualy served at puja and other occassions.:-)
Thank you
Thank you DEBASMITA 🙂 I have few niramish aloo dum recipes on the blog already, one is with bhaja moshla and another one is Kashmiri Dum Aloo, I’ll try to include the poppyseeds variation later on the blog. In the meanwhile you can check the recipes here.
http://www.scratchingcanvas.com/bengali-aloo-dum-complete-veg-no-onion-no-garlic/
http://www.scratchingcanvas.com/kashmiri-dum-aloo-dum-olav-no-onion-no/
Hi .. very nice cake recipe…just wanted to ask that the consistency of the chocolate and vanilla batter are different as shown here, should it not be uniform for baking evenly..can I add little milk to the vanilla batter?