pistachio marble cake

When I was growing up, Mom wasn’t the only Kiker foodie in the kitchen.

My Dad had his own assortment of culinary “secret weapons” and you’d find him outside, grillside, or inside making S.O.S, banana sammys or one of his signature dishes, San Diego Steak, which is still a family favorite.

Dad was loved by all. He’s remembered as a great story-teller and someone who had the priceless gift of an infectious laugh. He could hypnotize a saltwater crab (no kidding), he loved wade fishing in the Texas gulf, the simple “pop” of a Lone Star beer and deer hunting (not in any particular order).

Above all, he loved and cared for his family.

Dad also loved anything made with pistachio; ice cream, pudding… and with certainty, this pistachio marble cake.

This one’s for you, Dad!

i. ingredients

1 package | 2-layer size yellow cake mix
1 package | 4-serving size Jell-O pistachio instant pudding + pie filling
4 | cage free eggs
1 cup | water
½ cup | oil
½ teaspoon | almond extract
¼ cup | chocolate syrup
to garnish | confectioners sugar

ii. what to do

0. Preheat oven to 350°F.

1. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil and extract in a large mixer bowl. Blend well by hand.

2. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.

3. Measure 1½ cups batter off to side and stir in chocolate syrup.

4. Spoon batters alternately (50% / 50%, with the chocolate batter last) into a greased and floured 10-inch Bundt pan.

5. Zigzag spatula through batter to marble.

6. Bake for 50 minutes.

7. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan and allow to finish on a cooling rack.

8. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar, if desired (um, yes!), and serve.

Foodie Tips ~

♥ Before adding the eggs to the dry mix, rough ’em up a bit with a fork. Don’t be cruel; just scramble them a bit.

♥ Love chocolate? We won’t tell if you add a little extra sauce!

♥ Greased and floured Bundt? Or sprayed with Pam baking spray.

♥ Without a picture of the finished result, it was a little hard to understand the marbling technique as described. So we vertically dipped the two batters together. Now that I re-read things, I think it’s dump things together by spoonfuls multiple times until everything is together then zig-zag your way. Hum, OK! I better make this again just to be sure!