Alice Medrich'S Tiger Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup cocoa powder, natural (Not Dutch process)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil (use a nice flavorful one)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon white pepper, finely ground
5 large eggs, cold
1 cup milk, cold

Preparation

Position a rack in the lower third of your oven and pre-heat to 350 degrees F.
If using a 10 or 12\" tube or bundt pan, grease and flour the pan; if using two 6-cup loaf pans, line the pans with parchment.
In a small bowl, mix the cocoa, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water together until well blended; set aside.
Mix the flour, baking powder, salt thoroughly and sift together onto a piece of waxed paper; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl (with the whisk attachment if you have it), beat the sugar, oil, vanilla and pepper until well blended.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stop the mixer and add one third of the flour mixture; beat on low speed until just blended.
Stop the mixer and add half the milk; beat on low until just blended.
Repeat with another third of the flour, the remaining milk and the rest of the flour.
Pour three cups of the batter into another bowl and stir in the cocoa mixture.
Pour one third of the plain batter into the prepared pan (or divide between the two loaf pans)and top with one third of the chocolate batter.
Repeat with the remaining batters, but don't worry about marbling--it happens by itself during the baking.
Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about one hour and ten minutes for either the bundt/tube pan or the loaf pans.
Cool in the pan(s) on a rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the cake from the sides of the pan(s) to release, invert and invert again so the cake ends up right side up on the rack.
Cool completely before slicing.