A homemade, utterly irresistible dessert this Marble Cake Recipe is swirled with chocolate and vanilla and lathered in a fluffy chocolate buttercream. You will be asking for slice after slice.
This Marble Cake Recipe is truly a labor of love, but darn if it isn’t one of the most delicious cakes I’ve ever tasted. And if you know me cakes are one of my favorite things ever.
Between the made from scratch chocolate and yellow cake batter and the homemade buttercream frosting, it not only looks fancy, like you paid a bakery to make it, but it tastes absolutely delicious.
Anytime I have a cake in the oven, the whole family gets excited. This Marble Cake Recipe has been a staple dessert in our house forever, it is one of our most asked for cakes.
Yes, it consists of more time and effort than your normal cake, but trust me, once you make this cake you will not want to go back to a bakery to have one made again.
This cake is very moist and flavorful with a chocolate buttercream that is not only rich, fluffy and silky but absolutely complements all the flavors so well.
I always say practice makes perfect and that it doesn’t have to be pretty, just good. Trust me, no one is judging on the looks, its the flavor that counts and this bad boy has it!
Some of our other favorite cake recipes we have on our site include: Peanut Butter Cake, Donut Cake and Funfetti Cake!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Makes a great birthday cake or special occasion cake.
- Uses regular and easy to find baking ingredients.
- The combination of flavors work so well together.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):
Cake flour
Baking powder
Baking soda
Granulated sugar
Light brown sugar
Eggs
Buttermilk
Semi-sweet baking bar
Unsalted butter
Unsweetened cocoa powder
Powdered sugar
Salt
Vanilla extract
Heavy whipping cream
Chocolate curls for garnish
HOW TO MAKE A MARBLE CAKE RECIPE, STEP BY STEP:
- Preheat the oven 350°F. Lightly spray two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Place parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, spray the top of the paper with baking spray and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar for 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time until fully mixed in. Stir in the vanilla.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and stir it in until combined.
- Next, add half of the buttermilk, stir until combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping down the sides as needed.
- In a medium-sized microwave safe bowl add the chopped chocolate and microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between each interval until the chocolate is melted.
- Add 1 ½ cups of the cake batter to the chocolate and stir until combined with no streaks.
- Divide the yellow cake batter among the cake pans. Add dollops of the chocolate batter on top, make sure to put the same amount in each pan.
- Take a toothpick or butter knife and gently swirl the two colors together.
- Then, take a spatula and smooth out the top, this will ensure the cakes bake evenly.
- Bake for 22-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer add the butter and whip until smooth.
- Add the cocoa powder and carefully mix it in until combined. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing the first batch in completely before adding more, the mixture will be thick.
- Lastly add the salt, vanilla, and 6 tablespoons of the heavy cream. Mix until smooth, if it appears too thick add an additional 1 tablespoon heavy cream. Once mixed in, turn the speed up to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- To assemble the cake, take the cakes out of the pan and discard the parchment paper.
- Trim the tops of the cake if there is any doming so they are even and flat.
- Place one of the cakes bottom side down onto your serving dish or cake plate, add 1 cup of the frosting and smooth it out to the sides.
- Place the other cake, top side down, on top of the frosting.
- Take about another cup of frosting and lightly frost the entire cake, making a crumb coat then place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight to set.
- Once set, take the remaining frosting and frost the outside of the cake. Add chocolate curls around the outside edge if desired, cut and serve.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO MARBLE A CAKE?
HOW TO STORE:
Cover your cake using a cake storage container if possible, otherwise an airtight container will work. It can be kept at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
If stored in the refrigerator, make sure to let it warm up to room temperature before enjoying it.
You can also freeze any leftovers, to do this wrap slices or the remaining cake in plastic wrap then a layer of aluminum foil and place in a freezer safe airtight container, this will keep for up to 3.
To defrost, remove to refrigerator overnight and then to the countertop to come to room temeperature.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- This cake is best enjoyed at room temperature.
- You have to work quickly with this batter. As soon as you are done making the base batter, melt that chocolate and get part mixed in. Add the batter to the pans, swirl, smooth out the top and pop it in the oven. If the chocolate mixture sits for too long it will begin to seize up and harden making it too dense to cook properly.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- Use other frostings, the chocolate and vanilla are basic flavors. See above for some ideas.
- If you do make the frosting, know that it makes just enough to generously frost the cake but with none left over to make any piping decorations. If you want more for piping I suggest making 1.5 times the recipe for the frosting.
- Don’t want to make this as a layer cake? This can also be made in a 9×13-inch pan.
Looking for that special cake that is moist, flavorful and that everyone will be asking for over and over again? Then you have to make this Marble Cake Recipe!
IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
If you’ve tried this MARBLE CAKE RECIPE or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Marble Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 4 large eggs room temp
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk room temp
- 4 ounces semi-sweet baking bar chopped fine
For the frosting:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6-7 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- Chocolate curls for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 350°F. Lightly spray two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Place parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, spray the top of the paper with baking spray and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar for 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time until fully mixed in. Stir in the vanilla.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and stir it in until combined.
- Next, add half of the buttermilk, stir until combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping down the sides as needed.
- In a medium-sized microwave safe bowl add the chopped chocolate and microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between each interval until the chocolate is melted.
- Add 1 ½ cups of the cake batter to the chocolate and stir until combined with no streaks.
- Divide the yellow cake batter among the cake pans. Add dollops of the chocolate batter on top, make sure to put the same amount in each pan.
- Take a toothpick or butter knife and gently swirl the two colors together.
- Then, take a spatula and smooth out the top, this will ensure the cakes bake evenly.
- Bake for 22-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer add the butter and whip until smooth.
- Add the cocoa powder and carefully mix it in until combined. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing the first batch in completely before adding more, the mixture will be thick.
- Lastly add the salt, vanilla, and 6 tablespoons of the heavy cream. Mix until smooth, if it appears too thick add an additional 1 tablespoon heavy cream. Once mixed in, turn the speed up to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- To assemble the cake, take the cakes out of the pan and discard the parchment paper.
- Trim the tops of the cake if there is any doming so they are even and flat.
- Place one of the cakes bottom side down onto your serving dish or cake plate, add 1 cup of the frosting and smooth it out to the sides.
- Place the other cake, top side down, on top of the frosting.
- Take about another cup of frosting and lightly frost the entire cake, making a crumb coat then place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight to set.
- Once set, take the remaining frosting and frost the outside of the cake. Add chocolate curls around the outside edge if desired, cut and serve.
Notes
- This cake is best enjoyed at room temperature.
- You have to work quickly with this batter. As soon as you are done making the base batter, melt that chocolate and get part mixed in. Add the batter to the pans, swirl, smooth out the top and pop it in the oven. If the chocolate mixture sits for too long it will begin to seize up and harden making it too dense to cook properly.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- Use other frostings, the chocolate and vanilla are basic flavors. See above for some ideas.
- If you do make the frosting, know that it makes just enough to generously frost the cake but with none left over to make any piping decorations. If you want more for piping I suggest making 1.5 times the recipe for the frosting.
- If you do not want to make this as a layer cake, this can also be made in a 9x13-inch pan.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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