Homemade Little Debbie Zebra Cakes Recipes

ZEBRA CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare two 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
• Add the butter, vegetable oil and sugar to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
• Add the eggs two at a time, mixing until well combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
• Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until combined.
• Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
• Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not overmix the batter.
• You should have roughly 5 1/2 cups of cake batter total. Divide it in half in two separate bowls (about 625g each, if using a food scale) and set aside.
• Melt the chopped chocolate, then add it to one of the bowls of cake batter that was set aside along with the black gel icing color and gently fold together to combine. Work somewhat quickly so that the chocolate in the cake batter doesn't firm up too much and make the cake batter more difficult to work with. If it thickens too much, it makes it harder to layer the colors of cake batter together easily.
• Drop alternating heaping spoonfuls of each batter to the cake pans and gently shake the pan side to side to spread it evenly after every 2-3 spoonfuls. So add a large spoonful of the vanilla batter to each cake pan, then add a large spoonful of chocolate batter to the center of the vanilla batter. Shake side to side to spread. Repeat until you've used all the cake batter between the two pans.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
• To make the frosting, beat the butter in a large mixer bowl until smooth.
• Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
• Add the vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of water or milk and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Remove about 1 1/4 cups of the vanilla buttercream and set in another bowl. Add additional water or milk, if needed to get the right consistency of frosting.
• Add the cocoa powder to the remaining buttercream and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Add additional water or milk, if needed to get the right consistency of frosting, then add the black gel icing color to get the right shade of black.
• To put the cake together, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes so that they're flat. These cakes don't have a large dome, but I like to make sure they're completely flat.
• Place the first cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round.
• Spread about 1 cup of chocolate buttercream evenly on top of the cake.
• Add the second layer of cake on top, then frost the outside of the cake with the chocolate buttercream.
• Use the remaining chocolate buttercream and the vanilla buttercream to create the swirls on top of the cake and the shells along the bottom. To create the two toned swirls, I find it easiest to add each color to their own piping bag, then put both piping bags into a larger piping bag fitted with the piping tip. Squeeze the larger piping bag to do your piping.
• Store in an airtight container.

COPYCAT LITTLE DEBBIE ZEBRA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Grease two 8" cake pans with shortening, then dust with flour. You can also line the bottom of the pans with parchement paper so they come out easily.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cake mix, eggs, butter and milk. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top springs back when you touch it.
• Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Start making the filling while the cakes are baking because it will have to cool.
• In a small saucepan over medium low heat, cook the flour and milk together, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to a pudding consistency. The amount of time this takes will depend on your pan and stovetop. Don't turn the heat up too high or the milk may scorch.
• Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely. (Move the mixture to another bowl and place it over a bowl of ice for it to cool more quickly.)
• While the mixture is cooling, place the sugar in a food processor and pulse several times to make the granules a little finer.
• Using a mixer, cream the butter, shortening, salt and vanilla until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add in the processed sugar and beat for 2 minutes.
• Add in the cooled flour mixture. Use a mixer and beat until the mixture becomes fluffy like whipped cream. This may take a couple of minutes.
• Place one cake layer on a cake plate. Place parchment paper under the edges of the cake so that the plate doesn't get messy when you are drizzling the glaze over the cake.
• Spread the whipped filling over the cake.
• Place the second cake layer on top.
• Melt the white chocolate and shortening together in the microwave in 30 second increments. Stir in between each interval.
• Allow the mixture to sit for 3-5 minutes to cool slightly.
• Slowly pour the glaze over the cake, working quickly to push it to the sides so that it runs over the edges and covers them. Be sure to work quickly because the chocolate may set quickly as it touches the cooler cake.
• Remove the parchment paper from under the edges of the cake. If the chocolate has hardened, you may need to use a knife to cut around the bottom edge of the cake so the chocolate doesn't pull off.
• Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Stir every 15 seconds until they are melted.
• Place the chocolate in a small zippered bag and snip the corner of the bag.
• Squeeze to make zebra cake lines over the top of the cake.
• Store the cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container.