The smell of freshly baked marble cake is one of the best things many people remember from childhood. The popular sponge cake with vanilla and chocolate has always been an absolute classic.
In this article, I will tell you my favorite marble cake recipe, delicious alternatives, and tips on making marble cake moist instead of dry.
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Taste and Occasion
The basic marble cake recipe is anything but spectacular. Maybe even a bit boring. But with real classics like this one you don't need extras in my opinion. At most a little bit of chocolate frosting on top.
Ingredients
Even though there are of course great alternatives with a twist (see below). The foundation of grandma's moist marble cake is a regular sponge cake. Most marble cake recipes differ mainly in the amount of butter and eggs in relation to the flour.
I personally like the "golden mean" best - with the right ratio of ingredients your cake will be neither dry nor greasy, neither too crumbly nor too firm. It will be really moist, light and airy at the same time.
How to make the Best Chocolate Marble Cake
First of all, preheat the oven to 360°F / 180°C. Grease a loaf pan with approx. 8 inches length or diameter and dust with a little flour.
Beat soft butter with sugar until foamy. Stir in the eggs one by one. Mix flour with baking powder.
In the next step, stir into the egg mixture together with two-thirds of the milk and the scraped out pulp of a vanilla pod. Cut the dough in half. Stir in half of the cocoa and the rest of the milk.
Now it's time for the interesting part: the marble effect. There are many different ways to get the typical pattern.
1: Spread the vanilla dough and the cocoa dough on top of each other in the loaf pan and run it through several times with a fork so that "swirls" are formed.
2. as shown in the pictures, form a kind of "rain gutter" 😉 or trough into the light-colored dough and fill it up with dark dough.
3. layer the two doughs in blobs in the form. This way you get a kind of cow stain pattern. 4. for a zebra pattern (a springform pan is best for this) alternately put a spoon of light and dark dough on top of each other in the middle of the pan. The zebra marble look will come about by itself when the dough runs apart
Smooth it out and bake the cake for about 50-60 minutes.
Top Tip
Whether you bake the marble cake as a Gugelhupf or in a loaf pan is up to you. Just like the concrete marble pattern that gives it its name.
Recipe Card
The Best Chocolate Marble Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Loaf Pan (approx. 8 inch.)
Ingredients
- 250 grams (0.6 lb) butter, soft
- 180 grams (0.9 cups) sugar
- 5 eggs, medium-sized
- 300 grams (2.4 cups) all-purpose flour
- ½ sachet baking powder
- 100 milliliters (0.4 cups) milk
- 3 tablespoons baking cocoa
- 1 piece vanilla pod , alternatively 1 pack vanilla sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360°F / 180°C. Grease a box pan or pan with approx. 8 inches length or diameter and dust with a little flour.
- Beat the soft butter with the sugar until foamy. Stir in the eggs one by one. Mix flour with baking powder. Stir into the egg mixture together with two-thirds of the milk and the scraped out pulp of a vanilla pod. Cut the dough in half. Stir in half of the cocoa and the rest of the milk.
- First, put the light-colored dough into the mould. Then pour the dark dough over it and pull a fork through it to form a marble pattern. Alternatively, hollow out the light-colored dough a little bit in the middle with a spoon, add the dark dough and spread the rest completely over it. Smooth it out and bake the cake for about 50-60 minutes. Make a test with sticks.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
My easy basic recipe for marble cake consists only of the absolute basic ingredients for sponge cakes. But sometimes it can be a bit of a change. Even if you only bake the basic recipe, you can add a little flair to your cake in no time.
If you like, you can stir 1-2 tablespoons of rum under the dough, add chocolate flakes or cocoa nibs to the dark cocoa dough, or use some grated tonka bean instead of vanilla pulp. The marble cake will be delicious one way or another!
Similar Recipes
If you are looking for a very airy and light alternative, you should try my super soft zebra cake with cream instead of butter. Low in fat and absolutely delicious!
About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
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