Adapted From a Cyril Lignac Original
Cake and Cookies
Cyril Lignac, for those not already familiar, is a French chef, restaurateur, TV star, and all round ‘bon gars’, and this is not our first Rodeo with his oeuvre.
We first encountered him sharing a recipe for choc-chip cookies in an early IG Live at the dawn of the Pandemic lockdowns: state imposed confinement having the unexpected consequence of giving us invitation into the real kitchens of real chefs in real time, in a revolution better than anything previously televised.
This debut cookie-cutting ‘Live’ chez Cyril was a rough and ready affair – at least in terms of its one-armed-paper-hanger filming style – which was not without its own charm.
Confined ‘tout seul’ in a glamorous Parisian apartment – he mixed and managed ingredients while unconsciously shifting from video to audio, as his phone moved from hand to counter-surface – where it might be left pointing only at the ceiling. For as skilled as pastry chefs are at working one-handed (because it’s always a good idea to keep one hand free in case the doorbell rings), there’s a limit to how many camera angles you can juggle while also baking cookies.
We were only one among a multitude on the day watching the action, reading the comments, enjoying the experience, and feeling inspired to bake our own batch of comforting cookies. It was an unforgettable moment of unscripted, unrehearsed, and unexpected community gathering that went on to inspire much of what came after – not least our own desire to bake those cookies and to keep the recipe as a ‘go-to’.
‘Tous en Cuisine’
This early rough cut inspired a hit pandemic era TV show – ‘Tous en Cuisine’ – broadcast live every weekday for the duration of the lockdowns across France.
Hosted by Cyril on a four-way split-screen – shared with a randomly selected family, a comedic co-host, and a celebrity guest, all cooking-along-a-Cyril, each broadcasting from their own home kitchen – and followed by thousands ‘chez eux’, preparing the same meal to sit down and share ‘together-apart’ with all the others as the credits rolled – an unlikely and important act of community at a time otherwise dictated by enforced isolations.
Marble Cake
Today’s recipe for a Marble Cake (or Cake Marbré in the original French) is another strongly associated with Cyril – representing both his memories of childhood and a regular feature at his Parisian patisseries.
We’ve chosen to reference it as a homage to the new kitchen displays we have on show in Wimbledon Village – including a newly installed book-matched wall of decorative cream, pink and deep burgundy toned marble rising above its matching countertop. All of which is, frankly, best seen and experienced IRL for the full effects of its curved edge profile and the sheen of its polished finish as much as for the drama of its tonality and markings.
And while the cake may not have the same origin story or longevity as the marble that it imitates, it does share the inherent trait common to all marble that every single cake will be uniquely marked – according to the hand of its maker and the flavour of its ingredients.
Ingredients and method are divided according to the two flavours/colours of the cake batter required (Vanilla and Chocolate) – be careful to read through the whole recipe before gathering your equipment and ingredients.
MARBLE Cake: Recipe
Vanilla (Yellow) Cake Batter
Ingredients:
- 5 x egg yolks
- 130g caster sugar (or vanilla sugar)
- 70ml double cream
- 100g plain flour + 2g (half tsp) baking powder
- 30g (melted) butter
- 1 tsp vanilla essence, or vanilla powder
Method:
- Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla – until they are beginning to thicken and turn a whiter shade of pale.
- Whisk in the cream followed by the flour (blended with the baking powder).
- Finally mix in the melted butter.
- Set the batter aside while you make the chocolate batter.
Chocolate Cake Batter
Ingredients:
- 4 x egg yolks
- 110g caster sugar
- 60ml double cream
- 90g plain flour + 2g (half tsp) baking powder
- 20g cocoa powder OR 65g dark chocolate (melted with the butter)
- 30g (melted) butter
Method:
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar – as before (until they are beginning to thicken and turn a whiter shade of pale).
- Whisk in the cream, followed by the flour (blended with the baking powder) and the coca powder (if not using melted chocolate).
- Finally mix in the melted butter and chocolate (if not using cocoa powder).
Marbling the Mix
- Pour half the Vanilla batter into the prepared loaf tin – smooth with a spatula.
- Cover with the Chocolate batter and finish with a layer of Vanilla batter.
- Use a clean spatula or palette knife to swirl the the two batters around each other to create a marbling pattern. You can either move from bottom to top in a spiral motion as you move along the length of the tin or use the spatula to ‘spade’ the two batters together from top to bottom, once again moving along the length of the tin as you do so.
- Be careful not to blend the batter colours into each other, or you will end up with a muddy coloured mix instead of a marble.
Baking the Cake
- Place the tin in the pre-heated oven (165ºC) and bake for 35-45 minutes (until a skewer or sharp thin blade placed in the centre comes out clean of any raw cake mix).
- Leave to cool on a cooling rack (un-mould as soon as it is cool enough to handle). Slice, serve, enjoy!
We’ll show you ours …
Cyril’s shown us his …
We’d love to see yours!
Tag us on Instagram @day_true with a picture of your marble masterpiece.
