Chocolate Loves Vanilla Cake (or Cupcakes)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. For cupcakes, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. For a half-sheet cake, spray a half-sheet pan with baking spray, or grease and flour the pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Stir in eggs, one at a time, until they have been well blended. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.
5. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, stirring well to incorporate.
6. Then, with the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in half of the milk, stirring until blended. Scrape down sides of bowl, as needed.
7. Repeat the additions by adding another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the milk, and ending with the last 1/3 of the flour mixture, stirring well between each addition.
8. Divide the batter in half, and put into two separate bowls.

For the chocolate half of the batter:
1. Using a microwave safe cup, melt the unsweetened baking chocolate by heating it in the microwave in 30-second increments at 60% power, stirring in between each increment, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
2. Fold the melted chocolate into one of the bowls of cake batter until well blended.
3. Add the baking soda to the chocolate batter, and stir to incorporate. (The melted unsweetened chocolate will weigh the cake batter down, so adding a touch of baking soda for leavening will help to fluff it back up.)

For the vanilla half of the batter:
1. Split the vanilla beans in half lengthwise with a sharp paring knife. Using the tip of the knife, scrape the caviar from inside the bean halves.
2. Fold the vanilla bean caviar into the other half of the cake batter, until well blended.

For cupcakes:
1. Beginning with the vanilla batter, fill a large scoop half-full of vanilla batter, and drop it into all of the prepared muffin cups. Dropping a half-scoop of the batter into each prepared cups should use it all and divide it evenly amongst the cups.
2. Clean the scoop.
3. Then, fill the scoop half-full of chocolate batter, and drop it onto each of the cups of vanilla batter.
4. Continue dropping half-scoops of chocolate batter onto the vanilla, until all of the cups are 2/3 of the way full. Be careful not to overfill, or the cupcake batter will bake over the cupcake liners and onto the pan while baking.
5. Use a butter knife and run it through both batters, to swirl an “S” shape into the top of each of the cupcakes.
6. Bake cupcakes in the preheated 350ºF oven for 18-20 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. A cake tester inserted in the centers should come out clean.
7. Cool for 2 minutes in the pan, and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

For a half-sheet cake:
1. Pour the vanilla batter into a prepared half-sheet pan. Spread the batter evenly across the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula.
2. Clean the spatula, and then scoop chocolate batter in rows, lengthwise across the vanilla batter, forming three long ribbons. Run a butter knife and cut through the batter widthwise. Make subsequent cuts through the batter about 2 or 3 inches apart, alternating directions with each cut, creating a marbled effect.
3. Bake cake in the preheated 350ºF oven for 20-24 minutes, or until cake is brown around the edges and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, or frost with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting before slicing to serve. See my TastyKitchen recipe box for my Buttercream Frosting recipe.

The sheet cake also makes an excellent “base” for strawberry shortcake.