Marble Spice Cake

Marble Spice Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 138.

This is described as "an old fashioned Southern loaf cake". I made this last month and am just now getting it on the blog. This would be a nice cake for the holidays. 

The recipe calls for a 9x5x3 loaf pan but I used a silicon pan (measuring slightly longer and narrower) that I had received from the Amazon Vine Program to review. This was the first time I've baked in a silicon pan and I was pretty impressed with the results.  

2 cups sifted cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp. powdered, unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. instant coffee
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. powdered cloves
2 TBS. molasses, light or dark

Preheat oven to 375 and adjust rack 1/3 up from the bottom. Butter (or spray) a 9x5x3 loaf pan and dust lightly with fine, dry bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter slightly to soften.

Add the sugar and beat for a minute or two.

Add the eggs and increase the speed to high - beat for 1 to 2 minutes.

Lower the speed of the mixer and alternately add the dry ingredients in three additions and the milk in two additions. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary to get it all mixed properly.

Remove half of the batter and set it aside in a separate bowl.

To the remaining mixture in the mixing bowl, add the cocoa, instant coffee,
cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Add the molasses. Beat until smooth.

Alternately spoon both batters into the loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out dry. Let stand in the pan for about 10 minutes before cooling completely on a rack.