Zebra Cake, Using Two Half Boxes of Mix

Last month, I wrote up "Zebra Cake, Using Marble Cake Mix", which differs from this zebra cake only slightly. While the marble cake method has the convenience of using one box of cake mix (marble), the two-half-box method provides flexibility in varying flavors and brands. Try different varieties of chocolate (fudgy, devil's food, …) and lighter color cake (white, yellow, vanilla).
My pixstrip shows the following image areas:

1. ingredients
2. equipment
3. preparing pans (spray oil with parchment paper)
4. separate bowls for chocolate and white cake mixes
5. mixing of wet ingredients
6. mixing of white cake batter
7. mixing of chocolate cake batter
8. start of dispensing of batters into the pans, alternating colors
9. batters in pans, kitchen scale
10. baked cakes
11. parchment paper removal
12. frosted cake with slice showing zebra effect

Ingredients

• 1/2 box chocolatey cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Devil's Food.)
• 1/2 box lighter color cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Classic White.)
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 egg whites
• 3/8 C cooking oil
• 1 1/8 C water
• spray oil
• frosting of your choice (I used mocha frosting. Scroll down for EZ instructions.)

Implements

• electric mixer
• 3 mixing bowls, 1 for mixing wet ingredients, the other two for mixing the batters
• 2 round cake pans
• cooling rack(s)
• measuring cups
• rubber spatula(s)
• 2 1/4-cup measuring cups for dispensing different color batters
• measuring cup or pitcher that holds more than two cups

Additional (straggler) items

• parchment paper as desired
• knife for spreading frosting
• cake plate

Instructions (Have the cake mix box handy! And watch the YouTube video for more details.)

1. Prepare baking pans. (I used parchment paper and cooking spray.)
2. Pour the cake powders into separate bowls.
3. In the third mixing bowl, mix the wet ingredients together, then measure. (Mine measured about 2 cups.)
4. Pour half of the liquid into the lighter color cake powder, then mix (about 30 seconds on low, then 2 minutes on medium).
5. Preheat the oven (350°).
6. Pour the other half of the liquid into the chocolatey cake powder, then mix (about 30 seconds on low, then 2 minutes on medium).
7. Use the two 1/4 C measuring cups to alternate pouring light and dark batters into the two pans. (Afterward, if desired, weigh the two filled pans to confirm the amounts are close to equal. Adjust as desired.)
8. Bake for about 24 minutes. YMMV
9. Test cake(s) for doneness with toothpick.
10. Remove the pans of cake and place on cooling rack(s) for about 15 minutes for cooling.
11. Decorate as fancy as you wish. Conventional, not-too-fussy decorating is as follows:
    1. Place one layer upside down on a plate and decorate the exposed side
    2. Place the other layer right side up on the first layer.
    3. Frost the sides.
    4. Frost the top.

Mocha frosting:
o 1/2 can white frosting
o 1/2 can choco frosting
o 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp just-boiled water or just-brewed coffee

If necessary, microwave the frostings a few seconds for stirrability, then stir all ingredients together.

Post-recipe Thoughts
This two-half-box method for zebra cake yielded only slightly less batter than the marble-cake method, but final cakes looked and tasted similar. (I'm not a pro.) For the marble-cake method, the wet ingredients were 3 eggs, 1 cup water, and 1/3 cup oil; baking time was two minutes shorter. Anyway, for future zebra cakes, I need to improve my aim in pouring batters in concentric circles.

Envying Animals, Part 2--Non-senses

My previous article "Envying Animals, Part 1--Vision, Hearing, Sense of Smell" was about envying animal characteristics pertaining to three senses. This article is about envying animal non-sense (grin) characteristics. Obvious capabilities are flight and living underwater without requiring mechanical devices. Other marvelous animal capabilities are ability to leap tall objects in a single bound, tails for tools and communication, and ability to hide in plain sight.

Flight
Has anyone ever, from youngster age on up, ever NOT wished for ability for self-propelled flight? For animals, we have birds, bats, and flying insects. We have aircraft and other machines that fly. Legendary fantasy flyers, such as European dragons, flying monkeys, Pegasus, and flying creatures from Avatar tantalize the fancy for flight. We have fantasy superheroes with wings or jet packs, and some who originate from other dimensions or planets.

Especially impressive are birds that can fly very long distances without stopping. From "These amazing little birds just broke the world record for nonstop flight": "These amazing little birds just broke the world record for nonstop flight … common swifts are capable of flying for 10 months without once touching land".

Underwater Living
Wouldn't it be great to breathe underwater without using a snorkel or scuba tank? Or deal with holding breath? Or worry about running out of air? Wonder about fish aquatic environment? "How do fish breathe under water?" explains: "Fish use their gills to breathe by extracting oxygen from the surrounding water."

High Jumps (Able to Leap Tall Objects in a Single Bound)
I think it'd be cool to be able to jump heights that cats, squirrels, and deer can in relation to their body lengths.

• "Speed, Height, Agility - Your Amazing Cat Has It All" describes jump height— "average housecat can achieve a vertical jump to a height of five feet or more (without running), which may be as much as seven times her own height."
• "How High Can a Squirrel Jump Off the Ground?" states "Squirrels can jump at least five to six feet straight up from the ground."
• "Dealing with Deer-Can they Really be Controlled?" states "deer can clear a fence or object that is 10’ tall or more from a standing position".

On a related note, "Top 10 Best Jumper Animals!" depicts animals that exhibit astounding horizontal as well as vertical jumping abilities.

Tail Uses
We humans lack tails. I envy dogs for having tails for conveying emotion. I envy prehensile-tailed animals for their ability to use their tails like an additional hand.

• "Why Do Dogs Wag Their Tails?" state "Dogs use their tails to communicate strong emotions such as agitation, annoyance and anger as well as happiness."
• "Animals With Prehensile Tails: Gripping Facts and Pictures" describes numerous animals that use their tails as tools. "They can curl their tail around objects such as branches and hold on to those objects for balance. … The Silky Anteater and the northern and southern tamandua have prehensile tails, which assists them in climbing trees or holding on to branches or other objects."

Hiding in Plain Sight—Camouflage, Mimicry
Some animals have their own cloaking devices, some for seeing without being seen, and some for making them seem to be something they're not.

• "10 Amazing Camouflaging Techniques" is a video with clips and descriptions of 10 animals in the world with extraordinary disguises and purposes.
• Octopuses, as shown in "Octopus Camouflage" can change color, even texture, to match their surroundings.
• A syrphid fly ("") [ has bee-like stripes, which might suggest to nearby life forms to avoid contact and proximity.
• Some spiders physically and behaviorally mimic ants so they can ambush them, as noted in "Spiders Disguise Themselves as Ants to Hide and Hunt Their Prey".
• Another case of hiding in plain sight is playing dead—playing possum. Even humans might play dead in extreme dilemmas, hoping to avoid closer scrutiny from armed pursuers.

Hanging Out in Groups—Swarm Behavior
I envy and marvel about some animals that can swarm without colliding into other members. Think about swarms of bees, flocks of birds, and schools of fish. From "Swarm behaviour": "a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving en masse or migrating in some direction. … From a more abstract point of view, swarm behaviour is the collective motion of a large number of self-propelled entities."

I can only imagine if aliens observe humans going 'round and 'round a race track collectively, but collide into others. Also, consider what alien observers might infer if they saw a sporting event—migration into a stadium, rituals and movements in the center that correlate with group motions and vocalizations, and migration out of the stadium.

Some Human Advantages Over Animals
Despite my envy of several animals' characteristics, in some areas (and more), we humans excel animals:

• Speech and communication, as in spoken and written language
• Human bipedalism that helps with seeing and assessing environments, and leaves hands free to do other things
• Unlike a goodly number of animals, no need to eat on the run, such as pursuing live prey for a meal or chomping on animal on the hoof. Also seldom needing to fret of predators in hot pursuit to make a meal out of us.