sour cream marble pound cake

sour cream marble pound cake

29 Sept 2025

Last year I went on a quest to find the perfect marble cake recipe. I tried a few recipes but none were quite right so I was quite excited when Erin Clarkson of Cloudy Kitchen posted her marble sour cream cake recipe. Erin is a perfectionist so I knew she would have ironed out any recipe kinks and that the end result would be a dream.

Sour cream is something I don't normally have in my fridge but I had everything else so once the sour cream was procurred I went to work. I made a few small changes to Erin's recipe. I lowered the sugar for a number of reasons but mainly because I planned to ice the cake and I was worried the iced cake would be overly sweet. I used GF flour as my neighbour is gluten intolerant and I increased the bicarb soda a little to overcome any potential density issues. The chocolate sour cream icing is a long standing favourite adapted from a Julia Turshen recipe for her Happy Wife, Happy Life Chocolate Cake.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a small loaf cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. If you'd like to make a larger cake in a Pullman Pan, please refer to the original recipe.

Marble Sour Cream Cake
Chocolate Portion
55g coarsely chopped 70% cocoa dark chocolate

30g room temperature sour cream

Vanilla Portion
115g room temperature unsalted butter

220g caster sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
3 room temperature eggs
170g room temperature sour cream

185g plain flour (I used GF flour)
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 

Chocolate sour cream icing
65g roughly chopped 52% cocoa dark chocolate

1/3 cup (85g) room temperature sour cream

2 tsp maple syrup

Method
Preheat the oven to 165°C, conventional. Grease and line a 8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5" (21.5 x 11.5 x 6.3cm) loaf pan with two pieces of parchment paper so that the interior of the pan is lined. Leave the edges overhanging to form a sling to allow for easy removal. Clip the edges down with binder clips if needed. 

Chocolate Portion
Melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each interval if needed. Alternatively melt in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure that the water does not touch the bowl. Leave the chocolate to cool while you make the rest of the cake, then fold in the 30g measure of sour cream once it has cooled.

 
Vanilla Portion
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, and the mixture has lightened in colour. Scrape down the sides once or twice to ensure that all the mixture is evenly creamed. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed. 
Add in the sour cream and mix to combine. 

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and bicarbonate of soda. Add to the mixture and mix until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl to ensure there are no unmixed pockets of butter at the bottom of the bowl.

Assembly 
Remove 210g of the vanilla cake batter from the mixing bowl and transfer to a medium bowl. If you haven't already, mix the 30g sour cream measure into the cooled chocolate and mix to combine. Add the cooled chocolate and sour cream mixture and mix until combined and homogenous. 

Using a 1 tbs scoop for the chocolate batter and a 2 tbs scoop for the vanilla, or just eyeballing it, blob the chocolate and vanilla batter into the pan. There is less chocolate batter than vanilla so make sure that the chocolate blobs are smaller than the vanilla. I like to do it in three layers - the first layer to almost cover the bottom of the pan, then bang the pan on the counter to remove any bubbles and give the batter a swirl using a butter knife. Then, repeat the blobbing process with more chocolate and vanilla batter. Again, bang the pan on the surface to remove any big bubbles and swirl the batter. Do this one more time with the remaining batter.

Swirl the mixture well using a butter knife, going horizontally and vertically across the pan. Swirl as much or as little as you like. Give the pan one final bang on the counter to make sure there aren't any bubbles. Oil the blade of a small knife and run the blade down the middle of the batter to help give an even split in the cake as it cooks. 

Place the marble cake on the middle shelf of the preheated 165°C, conventional oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, checking after about an hour. The outside should be a deep golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Leave the cake to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes then use the parchment paper as a sling to remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cake cools, prepare the icing.

Icing
Place the chopped chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15-second increments, stirring between increments, until melted. Remove from the microwave and whisk in the sour cream and maple syrup. The icing should be smooth and quite silky. Refrigerate the icing until it thickens but is still spreadable. When the cake has cooled, top with the icing and allow the icing to set before serving. Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. 

Notes
Because of the nature of the swirling, sometimes you'll end up with some bubbles in the cake. This is fine - make sure you bang the pan a bunch of times on the counter to help remove as many as possible.

As expected, the cake was delicious with a perfect crumb and a perfect swirl and the chocolate sour cream icing was the perfect topping for this cake.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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sour cherry torte

sour cherry torte

21 Sept 2025

I recently inherited Mum's old handwritten recipe book. Mum wasn't a baker but she had some tried and true cake recipes, all of which were given to her by her best friend Milli. This recipe was written on a piece of paper in Milli's handwriting and I found it folded up within the pages of the book. I copied it out many years ago and the recipe has been stored in that dusty old recipe box for years. I can't remember Mum ever making this tart. She did not enjoy making pastry and she loved cherries so much, she would have eaten them all long before they made their way into a tart shell.

Milli's mother-in-law was born in Germany and she came to Australia as a young widow with her children around the time of the 2nd World War. Mrs. Ortweiler was a great cook and this was probably one of her recipes. I've done some research and although I can't find an exact match, there are a number of Swiss cherry tart recipes (Chriesiwähe) that are similar. As I'd never seen or tasted this tart before, I went in a little bit blind. I used frozen sour cherries for the tart filling, so increased the sugar a little from the original recipe which was quaintly measured written in tablepoons. 

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17-cm tart. For all my recipes, I use a 250 ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon. All eggs are 60 grams and my oven is a conventional oven not fan forced, so you may need to reduce your oven temperature by 20°C. If you'd like to make a 23cm tart, you'll have enough pastry but you'll need to double all the filling ingredients as the original recipe used a kilo of pitted cherries.

Sour cherry torte

Pastry 
¼ cup (45g) icing sugar
¼ cup (25g) almond meal
1⅓ cup (200g) plain flour
pinch salt
110 g (4 oz) cold unsalted butter, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
cold water

Cherry layer
1 egg beaten with 1 tbs water
2 tbs fresh breadcrumbs
325g frozen sour cherries
1 tbs caster sugar

Filling

1 tsp plain flour

1 tsp milk
1 egg, separated
40g caster sugar
pinch cinnamon
1 tsp grated lemon rind
20 mls lemon juice
30g sour cream

To serve
Icing sugar
Thick cream

Pastry
To make the pastry, combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor, and whiz for a few seconds until well combined and free of lumps. Add the cold butter and whiz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and sufficient cold water and whiz until a soft dough just starts to form around the blade. Remove the dough from the food processor and gather the pastry into a ball; flatten slightly before wrapping in plastic and placing in the fridge. Refrigerate the pastry for an hour. 

You’ll only need about half of the pastry dough to make a 17cm tart. The pastry freezes well so just wrap the remaining pastry in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.  

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out thinly - 4mm thick. Line a greased 17 cm flan tin with the pastry mixture. Brush the pastry case with the egg mixture and sprinkle the base with the breadcrumbs then return to the fridge for another 30 minutes. 

While the pastry is in the fridge, preheat the oven to 200°C conventional and place a baking tray on the centre rack to preheat. Remove the pastry shell from the fridge, fill with the frozen cherries and place on the preheated baking tray. Reduce the temperature to 180°C, conventional and bake for 30 minutes. 

Filling
While the torte is in the oven, make the filling. Blend the flour with the milk, then add the yolk, sugar, cinnamon, lemon rind and lemon juice and stir until sugar has dissolved. Add sour cream and mix again. After 30 minutes, remove the tart from the oven, sprinkle 1 tbs caster sugar over the sour cherries and place to one side.

 
To finish the filling, beat the egg whites in a small bowl until stiff and gently fold them into the mixture then pour the filling over the cherries. Return the torte to the oven and bake for a further 30- 45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and set. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. When completely cool unmould the tart. 

Just before serving dust the top of the tart with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of cream.

I shared this with the neighbours and it received rave reviews. 

The tart is delicious because of its simplicity. It has crisp tart shell with a tart sour cherry filling all topped with a soft lemon souffle mixture. 

See you all again next week, with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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apricot cheesecake crumble bars

apricot cheesecake crumble bars

15 Sept 2025

I love making jam and marmalade but I don't eat much of either. I usually give away the pots of jam or use them in my baking and the remaining jars of jam I store under the bed or in my sunroom. I think I have 2 unopened jars of fig jam, 2 unopened jars of apricot jam, 2 unopened jars of blood orange marmalade, 4 unopened jars of plum conserve and any number of half consumed pots of jam lurking in the fridge. 

Consequently I'm always on the lookout for recipes using jam and that's how I came across this recipe by Sarah Kieffer. I made an apricot version of her creamy jammy coffee cake and added oats to the streusal. The topping and filling were delicious but I wasn't sold on the base layer. I cast my mind back to the raspberry cheesecake crumble bars I made a few years ago and decided the apricot cream cheese coffee cake would work better served as bars with a shortbread base. Off to the kitchen I went and came up with this variation.

Here's the recipe for you which makes an 8 inch cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Apricot cheesecake crumble bars
Base
175g unsalted butter
⅓ cup (75g) caster sugar
1½ cup (225g) plain flour, sifted
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Crumble
3 tbsp (25g) rolled oats

3 tsp demerara or raw sugar

Filling
2/3 cup apricot jam

1 tbs lemon juice
250g room temperature cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon yoghurt or cream

Method
Grease and line an 8 inch square tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 190°C, conventional.

In a food processor, process all the ingredients for the base until a soft dough forms around the blades. Take out 1/3 of the dough (160g) and place in a small bowl. Add the oats and demerara sugar to the dough and place in the fridge. This will form the crumble topping. Take the remaining ⅔ of the dough and press the mixture into the base of the prepared tin. Place the tin in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the base is golden. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

  
Filling

Gently warm the jam in a pan until loose, then remove from the heat. Stir through the lemon juice and then set to one side while you make the cheesecake filling. 

Wipe out the food processor then combine the remaining filling ingredients in the food processor and whiz until smooth then pour over the prepared base. Dot the jam over the cheesecake, then strew over the crumble mix.

Return to the oven and bake the cake for 45 minutes or until the filling is just set and the crumble golden. Allow to cool before storing in the fridge to firm up. 

Cut into squares or bars with a damp knife before serving. The bars will keep for 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. They will start to soften after 2 days but are still delicious. These are best served at room temperature. 

These apricot cheesecake crumble bars with their crisp shortbread base, filled with a creamy cheesecake filling brightened with a pop of apricot jam then topped with oaty crumbs were a treat. If I were to make any changes, perhaps I'd add a teaspoon or 2 of lemon rind to the cheesecake layer just to add a bit more of a citrus zing.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese brownies

chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese brownies

8 Sept 2025

We've had a very wet winter here in Sydney, so one rainy Sunday I decided to do a spot of baking. I picked up my copy of Beatrix Bakes Another Slice and browsed through the book. I was intrigued by the brownie recipe which used ingredients with which I was familiar but the technique used was wildly different.

The brownies are made from pantry staples and cream cheese, all of which I had in the kitchen, so I decided to make a small batch. Just as I was about to put the brownies in the oven, I topped them with some frozen raspberries to make the fruity 'adaptrix', a Natalie'ism.

Here's the recipe for you (in Natalie's own words) adapted from here, which makes a 17-cm square tin of brownies. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. If you'd like to make a larger batch please refer to the original recipe.

Chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese brownies - makes 12 bite-size brownies

Ingredients
Cooking oil spray 
100g egg (2 eggs) 
150g raw caster sugar 
55g good bittersweet chocolate (around 50-60% cocoa)
120g unsalted butter 
45g plain flour, regular or gluten free
30g Dutch (unsweetened) cocoa powder 
heaped ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
90g good extra-dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa)
55g full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
50g frozen raspberries

Method
Heat the oven to 170°C, conventional. Lightly spray a 17-cm square, 5 cm deep cake tin with cooking oil and line the base and sides with baking paper. Ensure any flappy paper edges are trimmed flush with the tin or secure them with clips.

Combine the egg and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment beat on speed 4 (below medium) for 8 minutes until you have a thick and pale foam.

While the mix beats, weigh the bittersweet chocolate into a small heatproof bowl. Heat the butter to bubbly hot (stovetop or microwave) and pour it over. Stir until the chocolate has melted and is smooth.

 
Scrape the warm chocolate/butter mix into the egg mix and beat for 5 minutes on speed 5 (medium) - it will look like a fluffy and flowy chocolate mousse. While it mixes weigh the flour and cocoa together and sift into a small bowl. Weigh the salt flakes on top. Chop the extra-dark chocolate into fine shards and add 65g to a separate bowl. Tear up the cream cheese into small hazelnut-sized chunks to sit on top of the chocolate. Set aside.

Stop the mixer and tip in the sieved dry ingredients. Beat on speed 2 (above low) for 1 minute until the flour is absorbed. Take the bowl off the mixer and stir in the chocolate and cream cheese. Some cream cheese lumps will remain and some will smear through, lightening the batter slightly all of this is good. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Press the frozen raspberries (fresh ones will scorch) into the top after smoothing the batter and then scatter the remaining extra-dark chocolate on top.

If you find a few too large nuggets of cream cheese when scraping and smoothing, massage them into the ideal size with the tip of your offset spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine took 40-45 minutes at 170°C, conventional) until the top of the brownie is slightly puffed, has a noticeable cracked border about 2 cm from the edge and fine fissures further across the surface. My Perfect Squidge Temperature (PST) hits at 95°C (205°F), with sticky clumps of mottled paste (not liquid chocolate).

Bake for 5 - 10 minutes longer if you want a more cakey brownie (internal temperature 100°C/210°F). If you want super-gooey filling, cook it for 5-10 minutes less, but you will definitely have to chill before cutting. Internal temperature taking is genius for brownies - no matter the batter, recipe or oven, you can always get the squidge right.

Cool at room temperature for around 30 minutes before cutting with a hot, damp knife, or chill it for a creamy fudge texture. The first warm bar, with still-molten chocolate chunks, is one of the greatest kitchen gifts bestowed upon a home baker. The brownies can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Allow the brownies to soften to room temperature or zap to re-soften before eating.

Adaptrix

It's a bit nutty
Add 60g roughly chopped (to about the size of your pinky fingertip) lightly toasted nuts, keeping a smattering to sprinkle on top. Pecans and walnuts are faves for the mellifluous texture. Avoid almonds, as they are too jarring against the soft brownie texture. Hazelnuts get a hall pass if chopped to a medium coarseness (half pinky fingertip). Heads up, they are very, very good with the Mocha Adaptrix.

Mocha
Coffee, more than salt or vanilla, will elevate the chocolate flavour - I add this for adults. Add 3g of instant coffee powder to dissolve with the hot butter.

The big chill
Score maximum brownie points and make the batter, then delay the bake. After smoothing the batter into the tin, chill overnight, uncovered is fine. Bake as above - just increase the time by 10+ minutes to allow for the cold start. Some baking boffins swear this melds the ingredients to make a better brownie. I just like that I can mix, rest and bake for easy warm brownie joy.

As promised, these brownies were very rich and squidgy, so I cut them into 12 small pieces. I shared the brownies with my neighbours and they were big fans.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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