Zebra cake

When I saw a picture of this cake, I knew I had to bake it.  I mean, how cool is striped cake?  Both the batter and the pattern were very easy to make.  The cake itself is pretty bland, even with extra vanilla and some espresso powder added to the chocolate batter.  In my opinion, the flavor doesn't matter when the cake looks this awesome.  I think it would be fun to play with color combinations- holidays, team colors, etc.

Here is the recipe for the cake and here are step-by-step photos.  I used 1/4 c measuring cups as scoops instead of measuring out 3 TBSP of batter each time.  I figured some of the batter would stick to the cup, making it about the right amount.  My cake took 45 minutes of baking to set in the center, but the top got a little too brown.  The glaze I used is super simple and super quick, just mix the first three ingredients in a glass bowl, microwave for 45 seconds (+15 sec if needed), stir and add vanilla.  

Let me know if you try the recipe.  I think it would be a fun baking project to do with older toddlers or school-aged kids.  It yields pretty impressive results with minimal effort. 

The last picture is a 14 layer cake I made a few months ago for a coworker's birthday.  The flavor was equally unimpressive and the cake itself took much, much longer to make.  None the less, it was also a fun experiment (and a lesson in patience).  

Happy baking!