Swedish Tiger Cake (Tigerkaka)
I’ve already shared several of my favorite Swedish cakes for fika (the Swedish coffee + cake break), like Silvia cake, kärleksmums, cardamom cake, and tosca cake. But another classic is tiger cake!
Tiger cake is a fluffy sponge cake made from vanilla and chocolate batter marbled together, or layered in “tiger stripes.” It’s an easy cake to make, but the tiger pattern and combination of flavors makes it quite special as well.
Tips
To get a smooth and fluffy batter, run the dry ingredients through a sifter or strainer when adding them to the wet ingredients. I know this is a step that we so often skip, but it’s so helpful when making cake batters. This way you won’t have to stir the batter too much and it will stay fluffy without lumps.
After making the vanilla batter, you will pour half of it into another mixing bowl to transform it into chocolate batter. I prefer chocolate cake, so I pour a little more than half of the batter into the chocolate bowl.
When adding the batter to the cake form, you can add all the chocolate batter and then all the vanilla batter on top, and then swirl the batter together a bit with a knife. Or you can add each batter in thin layers, and then you won’t need to swirl it together in the end. I first add a bit of chocolate batter, then a layer of vanilla, then another layer of chocolate, and another of vanilla.
You don’t want to bake this cake for too long, as then it might get a bit dry. But be sure that the cake doesn’t jiggle when you remove it from the oven, because that means the batter hasn’t fully baked through yet. You can also stick a toothpick into the center to make sure the cake is done.
This cake keeps well for several days when stored in an airtight container or bag.
Swedish Tiger Cake (Tigerkaka)
Equipment
- loaf pan
- hand mixer
Ingredients
- 11 tbsp butter
- 2/3 cup milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C) and generously butter the loaf pan. You can also line the bottom with baking paper to prevent sticking.
- Melt the butter and add the milk. Set aside to cool a bit.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until very pale and fluffy.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla sugar and fold into the egg mixture. If using vanilla extract, add it to the butter and milk instead.
- Add the butter and milk mixture and fold until smooth.
- Add the cocoa and milk to another mixing bowl and stir together into a smooth paste. Then add half of the cake batter and gently fold until the cocoa is incorporated.
- Pour the chocolate and vanilla batter into the loaf pan in alternating layers, a bit at a time (I do two or three layers of each).
- Bake for about 60 – 70 minutes, until the cake doesn't jiggle and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool before removing from the pan.
2 Comments
Bianca
March 1, 2024 at 2:32 pm
That’s fantastic Silvia! LOVED this one, did it for twelve people, and everybody was happy to have another piece. Thank you, cheers from Brazilians living in Sweden <3
Silvia
March 4, 2024 at 4:13 pm
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it!