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Marble Cake Recipe from Scratch
Marble cake is one of my favorite cakes.
It is a rich, moist and buttery cake with chocolate swirls. Every bite is chocolatey, sweet and decadent.
It is great with a cup of coffee or tea and I enjoy it whenever I need a quick sweet bite.
This is the easiest and the best marble cake recipe step by step, adapted from my butter cake recipe. The taste is 5 stars!
How to Make Marble Cake?
In this recipe, you will learn how to make the cake mix with the following ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Cocoa powder
Mix the cocoa powder to make the chocolate batter. Follow the steps in the recipe card and learn the techniques on how to create the marble effect in the cake.
Marble Cake without Chocolate
You can use chocolate in the cake but I prefer to use cocoa powder because it’s easier.
Cocoa powder doesn’t compromise the taste.
This recipe is guaranteed to yield a cake that is rich, buttery with deep chocolate flavors.
Baking Tips
For the best results, please follow the tried and tested tips below:
- Grease the cake pan generously with butter.
- Regardless of the size of pan used, double and stack two pans together before baking. This will make sure that the cake doesn’t have a thick brown crust and have a softer texture.
- Cover the top of the cake at 20 minutes mark in the oven. This will make sure that the top of the cake is not too brown.
- Let cool the cake on wire rack for 30 minutes before removing from the pan. This will ensure that the bottom of the cake doesn’t stick to the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Use Sour Cream?
Yes, you can. Sour cream makes marble cake extra moist.
Substitute milk in the recipe with the same amount of sour cream (4 tablespoons).
What Cake Pan to Use for Homemade Marble Cake?
I baked the cake with mini loaf pans because I love small packages. The batter makes three mini loaves.
You can also use regular loaf pan (9×5 inch) or standard rectangle cake pan measuring 9×9-inch or 8×8-inch.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 373 calories per serving.
What to Serve with This Recipe?
Serve the cake with coffee or tea. For an afternoon tea party, I recommend the following recipes.
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Marble Cake
Ingredients
- 7 oz. all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature)
- 7 oz. sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a pan with some butter.
- Mix the flour and the baking powder together and sieve. Add in salt and mix well. Set aside.
- Use an electronic hand mixer or stand mixer to mix butter and sugar until well combined or pale yellow in color. Add in the first egg. Beat well after each addition of egg until creamy. Scrape down the sides and add in vanilla extract. Fold the flour into the mixture and mix well. Add in the milk.
- Divide the batter into two portions. Stir the cocoa powder into one portion and mix well. Transfer the plain batter into the greased baking pan. Shake it lightly to distribute evenly.
- Pour the cocoa batter in the middle of baking pan, and lightly swirl the cocoa batter with a butter knife. I usually make a "S" shape with the butter knife a few times. Do not over mix.
- Bake until golden brown and cooked, about 40 minutes. If the top turns too brown before the cake is set, cover the top with aluminum foil at 20 minutes mark to prevent the top from being too brown and crusty.
- Insert a cake tester in the middle of the cake to test doneness. Bake longer if the middle of the cake is still wet. Remove it from the oven and let cool on the wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, slice and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I cut the ingredients by half to bake a smaller size cake. However, the crust is crispy. Is it I bake too long?
If you have a smaller size cake, you don’t need to bake that long.
Did I miss something? I saw no instructions for the cocoa batter. I’d really like to use this recipe for my husband’s bday but I not proficient enough to use w/out complete directions. Thanks.
It’s clearly stated in the instructions.
Hi Bee,
Will it be ok to use normal salted butter but do not add anymore salt to the flour / cut down on salt?
Thank you.
Yes, you can!
Hi how do you get the middle chocolate design?
Just follow the instructions on the recipe card.
Thank you dear
Hi. Can I use a circular baking tin instead of the rectangular tin?
Yes you can!
Hi, can I use buttermilk ?
Should be fine.
Can I make this into cupcakes?
Yes, but the texture is not great to be baked as cupcakes.
can we use heavy cream instead of whole milk?
Yes, you can.
Can I use heavy cream instead of milk?
Yes you can.
Can I use cake flour and buttermilk instead ?
I think so.
Hi, can I use self raising flour instead?
Regards
Beeling
Yes, I think so.
Hi Bee. Thank you for the recipe. Is it possible to reduce the sugar to 50g instead of 200g?
I tried using low fat yogurt when baking butter cake and it is a bit dry. Any reason?
I don’t know, you are reducing too much. It might affect the success of the cake!