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.
Nyruthy
Hey,
Can I cut down all the ingredients by half and bake the smaller version of this recipe? Cz I wanna make a small batch instead of a huge one. But I don’t wanna mess up the cake.
Sugar Spun Run
Yes, this recipe can be cut in half. Please keep in mind if you change the pan size, the bake time will be different than what is listed so you’ll need to keep an eye on it. 🙂
Baker
I made this cake for mother’s day and it turned out amazing! One of the best cakes I have made. Everything from the moist cake to the creamy frosting was delicious. Totally recommend.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed it and that it made a wonderful mother’s day treat! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Siti
Can I use UHT milk/Fresh Milk to create the buttermilk since I cant find whole milk here. Thanks
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Siti! Yes, that should be fine. I hope that you enjoy your cake! 🙂
Teresa
Just served the Marble cake and my family loved it! Nice recipe!!! I don’t know which cake recipe to try next!
Thanks so much for sharing your recipes.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the cake, Teresa! Have you tried my Worst Chocolate Chip Cookies yet?
Ivy
Hi,thank you so much for this recipe,i made it and it was really delicious according to my family,the chocolate didn’t really come out dark though because i don’t think the chocolate i used was good quality,apart from that,it was spot on!
Sam
I’m so glad to hear that it was a hit overall, Ivy! Thank you for commenting!
Lena K.
I always bake almost all of your recipes and I absolutely love ❤️ and adore you. Each time I bake one of your recipes every one things that i bought it from a very professional Bakery. Lol 😂 not me and I started taking pictures and record few minutes of it. And this Sunday it’s Mother’s Day, and I want first to wish you Happy Mother’s Day, 💗💗💐💐💐💐🌷🌷and I’m baking your Chocolate Marble Cake. I’ll post the pictures on Sunday and tag you so you can see it. Thank you 😊 again for all of your amazing recipes 💕🥰💐💐
Sam
You are so kind, Lena! Thank you for such a sweet comment, I hope you LOVE this marble cake just as much as the other recipes!! <3
Susan
Can’t wait to try this tomorrow! For the step of melting chocolate for the cake, how much would I use if using chocolate chips as I don’t have a bar? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Susan! I would use a slightly heaping 2/3 cup of chocolate chips. Enjoy! 🙂
Susan
I saw this after I already made it, I used just under 1 cup (weighed it on a scale to 4 ounces not sure if that was how to do it). It seems like the chocolate part was kind of gooey but that could of been from using the chips. The taste was great nonetheless & topped with that yummy frosting! Thanks for this awesome recipe. Hope to try it again with the chocolate bar once they are back in stock. We are trying your pizza crust tonight ! Thanks!
Sam
I’m so glad it was still so tasty, Susan! Thank you for commenting and I hope you love the pizza dough just as much! 🙂
Diane
Looks delicious! Also, sixty tries??? You have the patience of a saint!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, Diane! Yes, SIXTY! I am finally happy with the results. I hope that you love it too! 🙂
Brenda
Hi! Can I make this marble cake in a bundt pan? I think it would be awesome! I love your recipes!!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Brenda! Yes, that will be fine. You want to keep an eye on it since the baking time will be different than what is listed. I hope that you enjoy the cake! 🙂
Anna
Thank so much for this! I really need a professional’s recipe; I tried to make a marble cake myself with my own vanilla cake recipe and it came out SO bad! I added cocoa powder to half the batter and I don’t think I added enough so it was not good…at all lol.
Can’t wait to try this! It looks so good!
Sugar Spun Run
You are welcome, Anna! I hope that you enjoy this recipe when you try it. 🙂
Jane MacDonald
This recipe looks so fun! I live at 7,000 ft and am wondering if you what to do about high altitude adjustments…? Thank you!!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Jane! Unfortunately, I am not familiar with baking at high altitude so I can not provide you with any personal recommendations. I am hoping someone else who has tried this recipe under those conditions will chime in. 🙂
Rai
Hi! Do you know how the cook time will change if I bake it in a single glass rectangular pan?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Rai! This cake will fit into a 9″ x 13″ baking pan. I am not certain of the exact bake time, I would just keep an eye on it and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs or clean. Enjoy! 🙂
Dev
Hi – I plan to make this for my son’s birthday. I need to make it the night before, so should this cake be refrigerated or left at room temperature overnight?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Dev! You can store it at room temperature. You just want to make sure it well wrapped for stored in a cake container. I hope that your son has a nice birthday! 🙂
Nikki
I baked this for my daughter’s 10th birthday and it was a big hit, absolutely great recipe. Will make again, thanks for sharing.
Sugar Spun Run
Happy (belated) Birthday to your daughter, Nikki! I am so happy to hear that she loved her birthday cake. Thank you so much for using my recipe for such a special occasion. I am glad everyone enjoyed it. 🙂
Faria Mehboob
Hey, I made this two days ago and it was literally the softest and moist cake I ever made. Even after 2days at room temperature it was still fresh and yum! Thanks loads! 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cake, Faria! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂