Finnish Tiger Cake

By
Kari Diehl
Kari Diehl
Freelance food writer who specializes in Scandinavian cuisine and is the author of "The Everything Nordic Cookbook."
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Updated on 02/8/22
Tiikerikkakku on a plate

Luzia Ellert / StockFood Creative / Getty Images

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 60 mins
Total Time: 70 mins
Total: 2 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 20 servings
Yield: 1 cake
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
258 Calories
11g Fat
38g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 20
Amount per serving
Calories 258
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g 14%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Cholesterol 47mg 16%
Sodium 44mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 38g 14%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 26g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 37mg 184%
Calcium 48mg 4%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 145mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Many Scandinavian and Scandinavian-American cookbooks contain at least one recipe for Tiger Cake or tiikerikkakku. This easy-to-prepare marbled Bundt cake or kugelhopf-type cake is considered a coffee cake in Finland. We believe the moniker “tiger cake” comes from the swirled appearance of the crumb, reminiscent of a tiger’s markings. Coffee cakes appear at everything from family gatherings to fancy affairs in Finland. Here's one version of Finnish Tiger Cake, marbled with luscious chocolate and orange layers.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup margarine, or unsalted butter

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 5 large eggs

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 1 orange, zested and juiced

  • 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder (e.g., Hershey's "Special Dark")

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Grease and flour a Bundt pan or kugelhopf pan or a babka pan.

  3. Beat butter and sugar together until creamy.

  4. Sift together flour and baking powder. Alternately, add eggs and flour to the batter until all are combined. Stir in vanilla.

  5. Place 1/3 of cake batter into a separate mixing bowl and stir in cocoa powder and juice of 1/2 orange.

  6. In the original bowl containing the majority of the batter, stir in all of the orange zest and the juice of the remaining 1/2 orange.

  7. Spread 1/3 of orange batter evenly in the bottom of the prepared Bundt pan.

  8. Gently dribble half of the chocolate batter on top with a spoon or frosting bag. Repeat layers, ending with orange batter on top.

  9. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

  10. Then invert onto the wire rack to cool completely.

  11. Serve and enjoy!