For this month’s Daring Bakers challenge, Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood invited us to bake “surprise” cakes — cakes that reveal something unexpected when sliced. At first glance the loaf below looks like a simple glazed loaf, but the surprise is revealed only after you cut it. Ruth shared many creative ideas for surprise cakes, and that’s how I learned that a zebra or hidden-center cake qualifies as a surprise cake. I had many ideas, but given a busy stretch of classes and orders, I kept things simple and made an eggless butterscotch loaf with a hidden red velvet center.
Want to see the surprise? Scroll down to the slice photo. The loaf uses my eggless vanilla/butterscotch batter for the exterior and an eggless red velvet loaf block placed inside before baking. After baking I glazed the loaves with a simple icing and scattered more butterscotch chips over the top. Some of the chips added before baking melted into the batter, giving pockets of caramelized butterscotch that made each bite extra delicious. The glaze and a few chips added after baking give a pleasant contrast in texture and a bit of crunch. I didn’t create any elaborate shapes for the red velvet insert — I was tired and wanted an uncomplicated but pretty reveal. The result was charming: the contrast between the golden butterscotch exterior and the deep red interior made the loaves both attractive and tasty.
Makes 2 Surprise Loaves
Ingredients
For the Eggless Red Velvet Cake
- Flour – 1 1/4 cups
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
- Sugar – 1/2 cup
- Butter – 1/2 cup
- Curd (plain yogurt) – 1/4 cup
- Cocoa powder – 1/2 tbsp
- Liquid red food colour – 3/4 tbsp
- Buttermilk – 1/2 cup
- Vanilla essence – 1/2 tsp
- Baking soda – 1/4 tsp
- Apple cider vinegar – 1/2 tbsp
For the Butterscotch (Eggless Vanilla) Cake
- Flour – 2 1/2 cups
- Butter – 1 cup
- Curd (plain yogurt) – 1 cup
- Milk – 1 cup
- Baking powder – 2 tsp
- Baking soda – 1 tsp
- Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
- Granulated sugar – 1 1/2 cups
- Butterscotch chips – 1/2 cup (plus extra for topping)
For the Glaze
- Icing sugar – 1/4 cup
- Milk – 1 tsp (or as needed for consistency)
- Butterscotch chips – 2–3 tbsp for garnish
Procedure
Red Velvet Cake (Eggless)
- Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- In a small bowl mix the cocoa powder with the red food colour to form a smooth paste.
- Add the cocoa-colour paste to the creamed butter and mix briefly.
- Stir the curd into the cocoa paste so the colour and cocoa distribute evenly, then add this mixture to the butter and beat until creamy.
- Combine the buttermilk with the apple cider vinegar and add to the batter, mixing well.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, then fold into the wet mixture until just combined.
- Grease a loaf tin, dust with flour, pour the batter in and bake in a preheated oven at 175°C (350°F) for 25–30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool the loaf on a wire rack. Trim the ends and slice the loaf lengthwise into two long blocks; set aside to use as the hidden insert.
Butterscotch Loaves with Hidden Red Velvet Insert
- Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add curd and beat to incorporate, then add milk and mix.
- Sift the flour with baking powder and baking soda, then add to the creamed mixture and beat until combined to form a smooth batter.
- Grease and dust two loaf pans. Pour about one cup of batter into the bottom of each pan and spread evenly.
- Place a prepared red velvet loaf block into the centre of each pan on top of the initial batter layer.
- Divide the remaining butterscotch batter between the pans to completely cover the red velvet block. Smooth the tops and scatter butterscotch chips over each loaf.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 175°C (350°F) for 25–30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the butterscotch portion (avoiding the red block) comes out clean. If the crust browns too quickly, cover lightly with foil.
- Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack and allow the loaves to cool completely before glazing.
Glazing and Finishing
- Whisk icing sugar with a teaspoon or two of milk until you have a thick but pourable glaze. Adjust the milk to reach the desired consistency.
- Pour the glaze over the cooled loaves, letting it drizzle slightly down the sides.
- Sprinkle additional butterscotch chips or chopped nuts on top for texture.
- Slice the loaf to reveal the red velvet surprise and serve.
The finished loaves were soft, moist and pleasantly sweet, with pockets of melted butterscotch from the chips. The contrast between the light golden butterscotch exterior and the deep red velvet core made the loaves a fun surprise and a crowd-pleaser. This is an easy, adaptable method if you want to hide different shapes or colours inside a simple loaf for birthdays, celebrations or themed parties.