Three Colour Marble Cake
Desert forks at the ready as we test our baking skills
Recipe by Jonathan Phang
Serves 8-10
225g unsalted butter
400g caster sugar
4 eggs
500g self raising flour
300ml milk
2 tablespoons cocoa powder or drinking
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Caribbean mixed essence
1 teaspoon yellow liquid food colouring
1/2 teaspoon red liquid food colouring
Chocolate icing
225g unsalted butter
450g icing sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk
Preheat the oven to 190C ( 375F/Gas 5)
Grease and flour a 20cm (8 in) round cake tin
Method
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy with a handheld electric mixer. Still beating add the eggs 1 at a time and combine.
Gradually sift in the flour and mix through. Carefully stir in the milk (the batter is thinner than most).
Divide the batter into three separate bowls. In one bowl, add the cocoa powder and mix well. In the second, add the yellow food colouring and vanilla extract and mix well. In the third add enough red colouring for the mixture to turn bright pink and the Caribbean mixed essence.
Place spoonfuls of the three batters into the prepared tin, alternating colours, then insert a skewer into the cake mix and make a few random, gentle swirls.
Bake for about one hour, on the middle shelf of the oven, until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Don’t worry or be surprised if the top of the cake splits.
Let the cake cool slightly in its tin before turning onto a wirer wrack and leaving it to reach room temperature.
To make the icing, put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix to combine. Using a pale knife, smooth the icing all over the cake. Allow to set, before cutting into slices to serve. 
Recipe courtesy of The Pepper Pot Club published by Hardie Grant