A Southern Grace: zorses, zorses, zorses*

February 20, 2011

zorses, zorses, zorses*

Yum

Have you ever seen a zorse?


It's a fairly awesome creation--a hybrid animal with a horse mama and a zebra daddy.

First things first: No, I did not eat any zorse.

I did, however, make a pretty terrific cake inspired by the beast's existence. You may be familiar with the zebra cake, which consists of swirled vanilla and chocolate batters and is extremely groovy. I changed it up a bit--the streaky effect is still there, but it's done with vanilla and cinnamon batters. Shocker, right?

Alternate recipe name:  Get-In-My-Belly Bella Cake

I'm pretty pleased with this twist on a classic. Granted, you have to be a true lover of cinnamon to really appreciate the taste, but as I'm sitting here pondering it, I can't think of a single person I've met who has said that she doesn't like cinnamon.

Moist, aromatic, flavorful, and attractive. Yeah, this one's worth the bit of extra effort.

*The title is a reference to the scene in Sleepless in Seattle where Meg Ryan's character is singing along to a Christmas carol in her car. Harses, harses, harses. Man, I love that movie.

Zorse Cake
4 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with a circle of parchment paper and lightly grease the bottom and sides of the pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is light and creamy. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour into the wet ingredients and whisk to combine. Measure out just over two cups of the vanilla batter and place it back in the medium bowl. Sift your marvelous cinnamon over the bowl and whisk until fully incorporated.
Put 3 tablespoons of the vanilla batter into the center of the prepared pan and let it spread slightly on its own. Put 3 tablespoons of cinnamon batter in the center of the vanilla. It will push out the other batter and, as it sits for a moment, will also spread itself. Alternating spoonfuls of the two batters, repeat the technique until all the batter has been used up. See? Easy peasy.
Bake for 38-42 minutes, until the cake is light gold and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then turn out the cake and remove the parchment paper. Reinvert on to a wire rack and let cool before slicing.

64 comments:

shaz said...

A zorse! A Zorse! My kingdom for a zorse! Naaah, doesn't have uote the same ring to it as Meg :) I am definitely with you on the cinnamon and chocolate , double yum.

shaz said...

Oops, I meant quite. Sorry , typing too fast.

José Manuel said...

Delicioso el bizcocho

oneordinaryday said...

I bet it's delicious. I made the zebra cake quite a while back and was less than impressed with the flavors. This sounds so much better!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I remember years ago finding a "zedonk" at the petting zoo:D I do love cinnamon and this method makes a very pretty cake.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A cute kitty and lovely cake!

Cheers,

Rosa

Joanne said...

Off to google image "zorses". But before I do...I have to say how delicious this looks. anythign with cinnamon swirled through it is just good eats.

TKW said...

Now that recipe looks delightful, but what really made me swoon was that pretty little kitty. So fetching!

Jennifer said...

LOL I have never seen a Zorse, but that is a mighty pretty kitty and an even better looking cake!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Last Christmas there were all these food shows on TV saying "Cinnamon is a controversial flavouring, not everyone likes it" and I kept thinking "WTF? How can you not like cinnamon??!"

I think this cake looks delicious!

Barbara said...

Now why does this cake with cinnamon stripes not surprise me? :) I don't think I know anyone who loves it as much as you do. I do too...but probably don't hold a candle to you.
Now, Grace, I've been dreaming about a cinnamon chocolate chip cookie. Have you ever made one??

Anonymous said...

Mmmm... cinnamon! An awesome tribute to the zebra cake, the zorse and to cinnamon. Triple play!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Looks lovely and I do love cinnamon :)

Lucie said...

Why am I not surprised? ;) Your zorse cake sounds great for breakfast!

scrambledhenfruit said...

These cinnamon stripes look great! That's a zorse of a different color. :)

lisa is cooking said...

I think you're right: it's not possible to dislike cinnamon. The stripes look great, and this sounds delicious!

Mel said...

What a deliciously cinnamony concoction! Lovely and tasty, I am sure. Plus, I learned a thing or two about zorses and laughed out loud at the Harses reference. So thanks!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

hehe I didn't realise that a zorse is in fact real. I thought it was just a concept! :D And nice looking stripes there!

tamilyn said...

Look at the kitty.... :)

I love the cinnamon and probably put too much in when I bake stuff, but this would be so good with a nice hot chocolate and some Kenny G playing in the, oh-where did that come from?

MaryBeth said...

Fabulous stripes...this looks so moist and wonderful Grace.

Lori said...

Yea! SO funny I just watched it last night with my husband. Who promptly fell asleep (dork). eh, he just doesn't know what he is missing. I was so taken aback by how young T. Hanks and M. Ryan look. Geez Louise! Where does the time go?

Of course you used cinnamon. Perfect! I'll bet it was delicious.

The Church Cook said...

My spice rack is never without cinnamon! Lovely cake, Grace!

Von said...

Wow..I've never heard of a zorse :O Now I want to see one... :) I love zebra cake- it looks awesome! But this looks even awesom-er :) You're so creative!

Dana said...

I made an almost the same cake, chocolate of course, but it was called woodgrain. So yummy!

... and now to google zorse!

Rachel said...

Omg, I just saw your Pina Colada post and I'm hooked. :)

Jannett said...

I love that movie as well. The cake looks delicious...:o)

The Blonde Duck said...

A zorse is a horse, of course, of course...

Faith said...

Oh yes, I am definitely a lover of all things cinnamon...love your take on this cake, Grace!

Pam said...

I want a slice of this beauty with my coffee right now... pretty please?

~~louise~~ said...

Sheer brilliance, Grace. what a wonderful tribute to a classic cake. Meow...

Thank you so much for sharing...

Marjie said...

I'm down with the cinnamon thing. Just saying. I buy it by the ton.

Leslie said...

Will you still be my friend if I tell you I have never seen that movie????
Love your cake!

Nutmeg Nanny said...

Cinnamon cake...I'm all over it! It sounds wonderful. Also as soon as I read the part about Sleepless in Seattle I started laughing and could hear that part in my head...haha. I also love the part where his son says "She's a ho! My Dad's been captured by a ho!" hahahaha

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of this cake since I am a huge fan of cinnamon, yum for sure!

foodhoe said...

sounds extraordinary, love the stripey effect, and extra cool that they echo the pattern of your very debonair kitty. check out those whiskers!

Abby said...

Sweet kitty! And I love cinnamon. There is nothing better than a house that smells like cinnamon. And cake. A win-win!

Juliana said...

Grace, the stripes in the cake looks so pretty, and loaded of cinnamon...so tasty :-) By the way, lovely picture of the kitty!

Angie's Recipes said...

oh the kitty looks so adorable and relaxing.
Love the twist on the classic cinnamon cake. Very pretty!

The Teacher Cooks said...

Love the kitty and the cake looks so cinnamony delicious!

Sammie said...

I've never heard of a zorse but this cake looks delicious! I bet it made your kitchen smell amazing!

pam said...

I read..zorses, zorses, zorses, like Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.

Robin said...

I want a zorse and a zorse cake! I love cinnamon too, so this is a great cake to make!

Amy @ cookbookmaniac said...

lovely cinnamon stripes there. zorsey zorse!

Laura said...

I cannot even imagine a person disliking cinnamon. Great cake. :)

FOODESSA said...

Grace...I think you've started a new trend...movies...great cake...and more cinnamon! Love Meg Ryan...there's something really unique about her.

BTW...I've never told you this...but every time I use cinnamon...you actually pop into my brain space. How weird is that?
This must be because of that cinnamon ice-cream email we had a long time ago!

Have a great week,
Claudia

Julie M. said...

Now you've got me wanting to watch Sleepless in Seattle again. Great flick! Great Zorse as well! I've never heard of a soul who doesn't like cinnamon either. i for one love the stuff and this cake could easily "get in my belly".

Half Baked said...

Oh my that's a lovely zorse you've got there! cinnamon mmmm....

Jaime said...

I love cinnamon too :)

i didn't realize the stripey effect was so easy! might have to try this one :)

La Bella Cooks said...

Who would actually admit publicly that they dislike cinnamon? That is asking to be stoned in the town square at noon. I choose to believe those people do not exist. This looks fabulous and love the title too.

Amanda said...

You had me at zorse. ;)

Mimi said...

Nice twist on a zebra cake.
Mimi

Hungry Dog said...

Delightful! Nothing beats a good slice of zorse cake.

vanillasugarblog said...

you know i think "A Southern Cinnamon" s/b the title of your new film err book err blog! ;-)

Lisa said...

Sounds yummy. Looks groovy! Pretty cat.:-)

Velva said...

Love it!!! A beautiful Zorse....Awesome.

Velva

Unknown said...

I bet it tastes better too. The zebra cake is pretty to look at but meh in taste in my opinion.

Gloria Baker said...

OMG What nice and yummy look this!!

Anonymous said...

57 comments! my, you have quite the following!!!

james

pigpigscorner said...

Love the texture. I've never heard of zorses..loving that name.

cocoa and coconut said...

I'm glad you didn't eat a zorze - a zorze cake sufficies! This looks delicious. Cinnamon is one of my favourite spices.

Shanae Branham said...

How clever and delicious looking! Thanks for sharing.

Rhondi said...

Yum! Looks delish! I use cinnamon in so many things. And before now, I've never heard of a zorse. My kids and I enjoyed looking at images, and they are so cool!

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Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Both pretty and temptingly moist, which is more than I know about zorses, so especially if it's a choice about dessert I'd definitely take this cake ;p.