Avengers Gluten Free Zebra Cake

I made this gluten free Avengers zebra birthday cake for my nephews 10th birthday. I wanted to make something different so decided to mix chocolate and vanilla together. 

This cake did not turn out well at all inside hahaha. Somehow little rocks formed! My sister said did you put rice bubbles in here. I didn't. I don't know what happened it didn't work out but it did look good. I would love to try again especially for the icing which saved the cake because the next day it was soooo dry inside haahah.

I completely forget to photograph inside but its for the best because it looked a mess. It looked more like a chocolate cake with specks of vanilla inside. 

The Avengers flying on top of the cake and the personalised cake topper I got from eBay.

Let me know if you try it and it works!

Avengers Gluten Free Zebra Cake

Base vanilla cake batter:

1 1/4 cups (300 grams) lactose free milk or any dairy free milk, room temperature
2 tsp apple cider vinegar (to be mixed with dairy free milk)
3 2/3 cups (460 grams) gluten free plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup (220 grams) white sugar
3/4 cup (170 grams) flora margarine or any dairy free margarine, room temperature
3/4 cup (190 grams) mashed bananas (3 small or 2 large) or pureed applesauce, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract

For the chocolate cake batter:

1/3 cup (33 grams) cocoa powder
1/4 cup (60 grams) Zymil lactose free milk or dairy free milk
2 tbsp dairy free margarine or butter, melted and cooled

Buttercream

2 cups (460 g) dairy free margarine or vegan butter, room temperature
1 cup (100 grams) sifted cocoa powder
3 cups (600 grams) sifted powdered sugar
1/4–1/3 cup dairy free milk (such as soy milk or oat milk)
 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/350 F. Grease two 20cm/8″ cake pans with cooking oil, and line them with baking paper/parchment paper. Set aside.

Prepare the buttermilk. Combine the milk with the apple cider vinegar, and set aside to sit for 5-6 minutes. 

In the meantime in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Make the vanilla batter: In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a large bowl with hand mixer, cream together the margarine and sugar until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed. Then add in the pureed banana or applesauce and vanilla extract. 

Mix again on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Add in about half of the dry mixture, along with half of the buttermilk, and mix on medium speed until just combined. 

Add in the remaining dry mixture and buttermilk and mix on medium speed until there are no more dry streaks. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as well as the sides.

Make the chocolate batter: divide half of the vanilla cake batter into a separate bowl. Add in the cocoa powder, remaining dairy free milk and melted butter into one of the bowls. Stir the ingredients gently into the batter until it becomes a chocolate cake batter.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS PART AT ALL BUT HERE ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS:
How to make a zebra pattern in the batter: now we’ll divide the batter into the cake pans in a zebra pattern.  Take a large spoon and spoon about 1/4 cup of vanilla batter into the middle of both cake pans. Then take another large spoon and spoon about 1/4 cup of chocolate batter directly on top of the vanilla cake batter. 

Repeat, alternating between vanilla and chocolate cake batter until the batters are finished. Gently tilt the cake pans to get the batter to touch the edges of the pan if they aren’t already. Do not tap the cake pans onto countertop. This will release any air bubbles that will help the cake rise.

Bake the cakes immediately after creating the zebra pattern. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled completely (there is absolutely no warmth to the touch!), then you can prepare your buttercream.

Buttercream
In a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter until fluffy and light, about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the cocoa powder and 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Continue creaming the mixture, adding in the remaining icing sugar in 1 cup intervals until smooth. Add in 1-2 tbsp dairy free milk at a time to help achieve a creamy texture.

Ice the cake as desired, slice and enjoy!

 

The original recipe is from Banana Diaries and here is the buttercream recipe.