The ultimate people pleaser, this soft, fluffy, moist Marble Cake is a swirled masterpiece of vanilla and chocolate. This cake is shockingly easy to make and tastes as good as it looks! Recipe includes a how-to video.
Marble Cake (AKA: The People Pleaser)
Some people like chocolate cake, some people like vanilla cake–but everyone loves this marble cake!
It’s a beautiful, swirled combination that’s perfectly chocolatey with just the right amount of vanilla. If you’ve tried and enjoyed my zebra cake, you’ll love this richer, more elegant take, minus the whipped egg whites and special ingredients. It’s simple, gorgeous, and designed to please!
This recipe is a close cousin to my popular vanilla cake; it’s wonderfully soft, moist, and so flavorful. When developing this recipe, I originally toyed with the idea of making two separate batters, but ultimately decided it was too much of a hassle. That technique produced many more dishes and a much larger mess, and the cakes didn’t bake as evenly together as I would’ve liked. After a dozen more rounds of testing, I finally figured out a way to keep things simple with one batter for both flavors.
You’ll love my recipe because it’s:
- Perfect for parties–everyone is happy!
- Soft, fluffy, and moist.
- Simple to make with just one batter.
- Cloaked with a thick and fudgy chocolate frosting (just one of many options–more below!)
What You Need
This marble cake uses basic ingredients you’ll already have on hand. Let’s go over a few of the key players:
- Butter and oil. Butter adds flavor that you would miss from using just oil, and oil adds moisture that you would miss if you only used butter.
- Flour. I use all-purpose, but cake flour may be substituted; see the notes below the recipe card.
- Baking powder. A tablespoon may seem like a lot. It’s not a typo, trust me on this one 😉.
- Buttermilk. Yes, even though we aren’t using baking soda (which is often used alongside buttermilk, if you recall my buttermilk substitute post), we are still using buttermilk. It adds flavor and moisture to the marble cake.
- Chocolate. Adding cocoa powder didn’t give me the deep, distinct chocolate flavor that I was looking for (largely because we aren’t adding any hot water to bloom it, like in my chocolate cake recipe), but adding melted semisweet chocolate did the trick. You can use semisweet or dark chocolate here depending on your preference.
SAM’S TIP: If you only have salted butter on hand, you can reduce the salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Marble Cake
- Heat your chopped chocolate in the microwave until it’s smooth and melted, then set aside.
- Cream the butter, oil, and sugar until fluffy, then stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then alternate adding this mixture and the buttermilk to the wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Portion ⅓-½ of the batter into a separate bowl and add stir in the melted chocolate until uniform.
- Alternate adding the vanilla and chocolate batter into your pans, then swirl them with a knife for a marbled appearance.
- Bake your cakes for 30 minutes, let them cool in their pans for 15 minutes, then invert them onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
SAM’S TIP: You can also reverse-cream this marble cake (the technique I used in my caramel cake) for a plush, dense crumb. If you often accidentally over-mix your cakes, it’s almost impossible to do so with the reverse-creaming method.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like using my favorite chocolate frosting (though in the video I used my chocolate buttercream; either will work!). If you’re looking for a vanilla option, my classic buttercream frosting, cream cheese frosting, Swiss meringue buttercream, or German buttercream would work well.
There are a few causes for a dry cake, but the main reasons are over-measuring your flour, overmixing, or overbaking.
I use a kitchen scale to measure my ingredients to avoid over-measuring my flour, as this is a very common mistake. I suggest you do the same! Once you begin combining the dry and wet ingredients, you want to be very careful to mix until just combined–and don’t use a mixer. Finally, you want to bake your marble cake until a toothpick comes out clean, or preferably, with a few moist crumbs; many ovens run hot though, so you’ll want to start checking your cake a few minutes before it should be done.
Follow these tips and your marble cake should turn out perfectly moist every time!
Store your marble cake in an airtight container. I recommend keeping it at room temperature, where it will keep for 2-3 days (so long as it isn’t a particularly humid environment). This cake may be refrigerated (again, in an airtight container) and will keep for about 5-7 days in the fridge–BUT, keep in mind that the refrigerator will dry out your cake, even in a container.
It’s always exciting to see the beautiful swirls when you cut into a marble cake!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Marble Cake
Ingredients
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate bar finely chopped
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup (120 ml) avocado, vegetable, or canola oil
- 1 ¾ cup (350 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup (300 ml) buttermilk room temperature preferred
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (see post for more frosting options)
- 1 cup (170 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (320 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and generously grease and flour two 8" round cake pans (you may instead use 9" pans, just keep in mind you will need to bake the cake for about 5 minutes less than indicated). Set aside.
- Place chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well, and then return to microwave and heat in 15-second increments, stirring well in between, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside.4 oz semisweet chocolate bar
- Using an electric or stand mixer, cream together butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy (about 30 seconds on high speed).½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (120 ml) avocado, vegetable, or canola oil, 1 ¾ cup (350 g) granulated sugar
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pause as needed to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.4 large eggs
- Stir in vanilla extract.2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Using a spatula and gently hand-mixing, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter/oil batter, starting and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined after each addition. Do not overmix!1 ¼ cup (300 ml) buttermilk
- Pour ⅓-½ of the batter into a separate bowl and add chocolate mixture. Stir until completely combined and batter is evenly chocolate.
- Alternate adding vanilla and chocolate batter to each pan, evenly distributing batter into each pan. Use a knife to swirl for marbled appearance.
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean but with a few moist crumbs (do not over-bake or the cake will be dry, you want there to be a few crumbs).
- Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes before carefully inverting onto cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting¹
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips at 15 second intervals, stirring between intervals, until chips are completely melted. Set aside and allow to cool slightly (about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally).1 cup (170 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- Cream room temperature butter with an electric mixer. Stir in slightly cooled chocolate and beat well.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- Gradually add sugar, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl occasionally.2 cups (320 g) powdered sugar
- Sprinkle in salt and vanilla extract, stir well.½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add heavy cream, increase speed to high and beat for 1 minute.2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- Spread a thick layer of frosting over the top of one cake round and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. Top with second cake round and evenly frost cake. Slice and serve.
Notes
Cake Flour
Cake flour may be substituted. If using weights, use the same weight indicated in the recipe. If using cups you will need to use 3 cups + 6 Tablespoons of cake flour (cake flour is lighter than all purpose, which is why the weight is the same but the volume is different).Storing
Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Keep in mind the refrigerator tends to dry out cakes and make them a bit dry!Troubleshooting
A cake that turns out dense, dry, or crumbly (or tasting like cornbread) was most likely over-mixed, the flour was over-measured, or the cake was over-baked. When mixing wet and dry ingredients together, do not use an electric mixer, use a spatula and a gentle hand to stir ingredients together until combined. If you are not using a scale for this recipe, please see my tutorial on how to measure flour. When baking, always bake in the center rack. Make sure that your oven is not running hot, as many ovens run much hotter or cooler than indicated. Keep an oven thermometer near the center of your oven to monitor the temperature, as an oven that runs hot will cook a cake too fast and dry it out. Use the toothpick test to test if your cake is done. Ideally a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out with a few moist crumbs (but not wet batter). If the toothpick comes out completely clean, the cake is definitely done baking and may be bordering on being over-baked.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Julian
Dear Sam
I am sure you are a wonderful person. But this cake was not it, I made it with my friends and let’s just say, it was more like cake soup, we did all the correct measurements (including getting the amount of vanilla correct) and it still turned out bad.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Julian! What do you mean it ended up as cake soup? This batter should not turn out super thin. 🙁 Did you make any substitutions? Weigh your flour?
Tequillia Salley
Followed this recipe from beginning to end. Did exactly what she did in the video. And it came out dense and dry. I even did it a second time and took the cake out early and it still ended up the same. It just not a great recipe for me at all
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this is happening! You want to make sure to not over-mix your cake or it can turn out dry. While the video is helpful it is always best to read through the instructions to make sure everything is being done exactly right. 🙁
kita
I made this cake almost 8-9 years ago—may longer. I don’t think there was a video then — not sure. BUT—this was the best marble cake I have ever made. I didn’t even swirl that much and the chocolate additions came out like golf-sized chocolate circles in the cake when cut and it looked unique and amazing. Tasty, very moist and stayed moist for about 3-4 days. I also added a bit extra vanilla. If you had problems with this cake, I’m very suprised. I’ll try this again soon. Thanks!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kita! 🙂
Donna McGee
Cake has been in the oven for over 30 min and centre is still wet. I’m using 9 inch pans. Measured properly. It’s also a convection oven. Put in for another 3 minutes. Fingers crossed
On another note LOVE THE ICING
Sam
Hi Donna! Baking with a convection oven necessitates temperature adjustments. 🙁
Leesa Fernandez
Can I bake this in a Bundt pan and cook it longer? Thanks.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Leesa! It should work in a bundt pan, but we’re not sure on a bake time 🙂
heidi hogarth
all 3 pans came out unclean. the bottom of two of them, and the entire side of one. definitely tastes good but it’s a mess and too much damage to be patched.
in addition, dark edges (light colored pan) and took 25 not 30 minutes to bake.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear that, Heidi! It sounds like your oven may be running a bit hotter than it says it is. 🙁
Sally G
I can’t stop slicing into this cake and it’s not even frosted yet!
I used heavy whipping cream instead of buttermilk and weighed all my ingredients.
I tried a marble cake yesterday that used cacao powder in the chocolate batter, and I much prefer this recipe with the melted chocolate.
Thank you so much! Wish me happy baking when I make this for my son’s 1st birthday party in a giant pan hopefully big enough to feed 50 people!
Maggie
Won’t be able to taste the cake because I won’t be there when it’s cut but it was way too much batter for 8-inch pans and took forever to bake. It now has very dark edges which will need to be scraped/cut causing lots of crumbs to make icing more difficult. Sorry.
Sam
Hi Maggie! It should definitely fit in 8-inch pans, you can see in the video it fits in two standard-sized pans with no issue. Based off your comment (too much batter, taking too long to bake, and dark edges) it sounds like an ingredient was accidentally over-measured. Did you use more oil or buttermilk than called for accidentally? I’m actually in the process of taking new photos for this recipe and can say with confidence it fits into the indicated pans (I just did it myself today), so those would be my best guesses as to what went wrong (unless your pans are actually smaller than 8″? Might be worth double checking that, too, but they’d have to be 6″ or smaller to cause the issues you’re describing) but I’d be happy to help troubleshoot further!
Deesse de Graaf
The cake was already brown on top but stayed wet in the middle. It also started dripping out of the cake tin right when I put it in the oven. Not sure what I could’ve done to fix this.
Sam
Hi Deesse, what size pan did you use? Did the batter look the same as the batter in the video? I just made it today and there was no issue so I’d love to help you troubleshoot 🙂
Karla
Have you ever tried adding crumble to this cake (thinking something similar to your coffee cake one)? if not, would you have one to recommend adding?
thanks!
Sam
Hi Karla! I haven’t personally tried it. There is a chance that it could sink in a bit. It likely would increase the bake time as well. 🙂
KJS
I made this recipe exactly as directed. I used weights when possible. I removed 1/3 to 1/2 of the batter to mix with the melted chocolate as recommended. This ended up being extremely thick and stodgy and when I put it in the pan, I was unable to marble it. Unfortunately, it was just a disaster.
Sam
I’m sorry to hear this happened! Did you make any substitutions? The chocolate cake batter is a bit thicker but shouldn’t be too thick to incorporate.
hailey
I plan on making this recipe as a 11×15 1 layer sheet cake. Any tips for baking temp & time?!
Sam
Hi Hailey! The temperature will remain the same, but I’m not sure on a bake time. Be sure to keep an eye on it as it bakes. 🙂
Joni Ramirez
I think I messed it up! help! I added cake strips and after 30 min it was wet in the center! what should I do?
Sam
Hi Joni! Was your oven at the proper temperature when you put the cakes in? Is your oven temperature accurate? They may have just needed another minute or two in the oven. I like to use the toothpick test. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and remove it. It should come out with a few moist crumbs. I hope that helps. 🙂
Melissa
Love the clear directions with amounts included. It makes a delicious cake!
Isabella
LOVE this recipe. So easy to follow, I love that the ingredients needed for each part are listed. The only ‘complaint’ is towards myself, as I should have gotten the air but bubbles out of the cake prior to making it since there are some holes from mixing and adding the two different batters.
I LOVE that you can really taste the chocolate and it’s a perfectly fluffy cake. I will be pairing it with a chocolate ganache filling and Bailey’s buttercream for galentines!
Thank you for sharing 🙂
Nora
Hi Sam!
This recipe looks GREAT.
Can’t wait to make it for my mums bday! Just wondering, would bread flower or any other flower work instead of the one you used?
Thanks
Nora
Sam
Hi Nora! I would not recommend bread flour. Cake flour could work if substituted properly. 🙂
Judy
Hi…I have a question. Can I make this cake and wait and frost it the next day without a problem?
Sam
Sure thing! You will want to wait for the cakes to cool completely then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. 🙂