We used a ‘Fleur de Lis’ Bundt pan, but any 12-cup, 25cm Bundt tin will do the trick.

Macha & white choc marble cake 

Serves 8-10 

Ingredients

2 cups (400g) sugar, divided
1 cup (250g) butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 cup (250ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract
3 cups (450g) cake flour
2 tsp (10ml) baking powder
¾  tsp (3.5ml) salt
2 (24g each) matcha latte sachets, stirred with ¼ cup hot water
Green food colouring
150g white chocolate, melted + extra for decorating
White chocolate-covered malted balls, for decorating 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C, positioning your oven rack to the lower level.
2. Whisk together sugar and butter for 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl every minute.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating between each addition before adding the next.
4. Pour in the buttermilk and vanilla, whisking through.
5. Sieve together flour, baking powder and salt, then whisk through batter for 30 seconds or until completely incorporated. Divide batter in half. 
6. Stir matcha through the one half, followed by a small drop or two of green food colouring. Stir melted chocolate through the other half. 
7. Thoroughly grease a 12-cup, 25cm Bundt tin with baking spray. Add a small handful of flour and move the tin to spread it all around, knocking it up the sides and middle.  Invert the Bundt tin to remove the excess flour. 
8. Add alternating spoonfuls of the green and white chocolate batter to the tin until filled, then use a knife to roughly swirl through the batter to create a marble effect.
9. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. (Cover the top with foil if browning too quickly.)
10. Cool cake in the tin for 30 minutes, then unmould to cool completely. 
11. Decorate with extra melted chocolate and top with malted balls. Slice and serve.

What is a Bundt tin?

Bundt tins as we know them today are an interpretation of the German ‘Gugelhupf” pan – a 16th century German cake that stood much taller and used yeast as a leavening agent. In 1950s America, a group of German-Jewish immigrants approached Nordic Ware, a Scandinavian cookware company, and proposed a tin that resembled the original Gugelhupf cake (theirs had to be left behind when fleeing Europe during the second world war). Once created, the history, memories and traditions steeped in this cake could once again be enjoyed, and the newly trademarked Bundt tin sky-rocketed into popularity. These days, the tins are available at various price points and materials, either as an accessible everyday buy or as a special investment.

Recipe & styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photography: Zhann Solomons

Also read: How to make a stunning layered honey cake